Infinity's Child
by David Falkayn
Summary: Every journey begins with a small step. This is the beginning of Evelyn Cousland's journey through the multiverse. I've dropped the rating down to a T rating-I don't think there's anything in it so far that brings it to an M. Should the content rate an M, then I'll alter it accordingly.
1. Chapter 1

Infinity's Child

Bryce Cousland gasped in astonishment as he raised his hand, ordering the troops behind him to halt at the outskirts of the devastated village.

"Maker's breath!" Ser Aedan, a grizzled knight who had fought by his lord's side during the struggle to oust the Orlesians, gasped in horror at the sight. "This is worse than anything we saw during the war, my lord."

Shaking his head, the Teyrn of Highever and his men made their way carefully towards the village center, their eyes constantly scanning the area as the horses whinnied nervously.

"Do you think it's a Blight, my lord?" Aedan inquired, lowering his voice so that the other men couldn't hear.

"No." Bryce shook his head. "I don't see any traces of darkspawn or their taint." Grimacing at the sight of a peasant family literally torn to pieces before in front of their burning dwelling, the teyrn remarked, "I'd have said wild animals, except for the fact that the village has been put to the torch as well."

"Then what caused it, my lord?" Aedan asked, "Bandits? The Dalish?"

"No." Cousland shook his head, "Neither bandits nor the Dalish would have been this brutal. And look—no sign of arrows. Dismounting, Bryce approached one of the mangled corpses. "Just as I thought." The teyrn growled, "No sign of blade work either."

"Then what could have done this, my lord?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Bryce replied, suppressing a shudder as he remembered the tales of werewolves his nanny told him as a child. "But whatever did it." The teyrn grimly declared, "I intend to find and deal with it."

"What are your orders, my lord?" Ser Aedan inquired as he also dismounted.

"Extinguish these fires, build a funeral pyre, and gather the dead." Teyrn Cousland ordered. "The least we can do for these poor souls is give them a proper funeral."

"As you wish, my lord." The loyal retainer saluted, "Should I send someone back to fetch a Chantry priest?"

"Yes." Bryce nodded his head. "Let's send these people to the Maker properly." As the teyrn resumed his inspection of the devastated village, he heard a low mewling cry coming from a still smoldering hut. "What?" The startled noble reacted as Ser Aedan drew his sword.

"Hold, my lord." The retainer cautioned. "It could be one of those who did this."

Recognizing the noise for what it was, Bryce responded, darting into the house, "I think not." The teyrn returned moments later with a bundle in his arms and a smile on his face. "It looks like someone survived this massacre after all."

Nodding his head, Ser Aedan remarked, "It looks like the Maker was looking after this little one. We can leave her with the priest when she arrives, if you wish."

"No." Bryce replied with a smile as he shook his head. "Eleanor and I have wanted a second child for years…but…we couldn't risk it. Not after she nearly died giving birth to Fergus."

"I know." Ser Aedan responded consolingly, "I remember your son's birth and how difficult it was. So, my lord, you intend to adopt this little pup."

"Yes." Bryce answered back, "If Eleanor is agreeable, of course."

"I'm sure she will be, my lord. The Teyrna has always wanted a daughter." Aedan replied, adding as the two men once again surveyed the destroyed village, "At least something good has come of this tragedy."

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"I think Evelyn is perfect, love." Bryce smiled as he watched his wife cuddle the newest addition to the Cousland family. "Mother would have been pleased."

"She's so adorable." Eleanor smiled as she played with the infant in her arms. "But I don't think she's Ferelden. See how dark her skin is and her eyes…have you ever seen anyone with violet eyes before? Do you know anything about her parents?"

"No." Bryce shook his head. "She was the only survivor from whatever destroyed that village."

"Do you have any idea who could have done such a thing?" Eleanor asked.

"No." Bryce shook his head. "There were no signs of bandits nor was this the work of the Dalish. It wasn't darkspawn and I don't think it was werewolves. Whatever it was though…it was horrible."

"Well…it doesn't matter." Eleanor declared, "Evelyn is part of our family now."

"Right." Bryce nodded his head in affirmation, "She is now and always will be a Cousland."

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_Highever Castle—Evelyn at age 8_

"Say your prayers, Evelyn…and I want to hear them this time." Nan instructed with a stern expression that instantly melted upon seeing the smile on her young charge's face, "I mean it, young lady."

"Yes, Nan." Little Evelyn replied as she knelt down beside the bed and uttered the night time prayer to Andraste to grant her good dreams.

"Very good, my dear." Nan praised as Fergus tried to sneak past the watchful nanny. "Stay right there, young man!" Nan commanded, "Your father instructed you to go to bed as well. So…to bed…now…and I better hear you saying your prayers too!"

Evelyn drifted off to sleep as Nan closed the door softly behind her. As she slumbered, she dreamed. Although this time, instead of dreaming about Nan or her mother and father or big brother Fergus or even about the elven servant girl she played with, Evelyn found herself walking down a corridor with doors on either side. Curious, the little red-headed girl opened a door to her left. She gasped and the laughed in delight as she saw an elf her age in the forest playing with other elves. Closing the door, Evelyn opened the door on the opposite side, this time seeing a dwarf boy receiving a stern talking to from an older man. Frowning, Evelyn closed the door and began opening other doors. She saw an elven girl and a human boy, and another dwarf boy.

Finally reaching the end of the corridor, little Evelyn opened the door at the end of the hall. As she gazed inside, the young girl gasped at the wonderful images. She oohed and aahed as she saw buildings as tall as the eye could see and carts moving faster than even her father's charger—but with no horses and metallic beasts flying through the sky as if they were giant birds! The sounds she heard confused and enthralled—and sometimes frightened—the dreaming child. But her attention was constantly turned to the people. The people…so many of them! Men, women, children, all dressed in strange and colorful attire going about their business—sometimes laughing, sometimes shouting, but always busy.

"I don't think you should be in here, young lady."

Turning about rapidly, Evelyn saw a beautiful woman with a kindly smile. "Who are you?" Evelyn politely asked.

"I go by many names, but you can call me Apeiria, Evelyn." The woman replied.

"You know who I am?" Evelyn exclaimed as she gazed up at the beautiful woman.

"But of course I do." The woman smiled back. "Very little happens here that I don't know about."

Her heart racing, Evelyn stuttered, "You're not a…a…demon are you? Reverend Mother Mallol told me all about demons and how they try to take over people. You're not going to do that to me—are you?"

"Of course not, my child." The woman laughed gently, "Although there are demons here and you are wise to be careful. But no…I'm not a demon and I'm not going to try to possess you or anything like that."

"That's good." Evelyn sighed in relief, "I don't think I'd like that. What sort of place is this?" Evelyn asked. "Is it where the Maker lives?"

"No, my dear." Apeiria responded with a chuckle. "You're dreaming and this is what you call the Fade. It's a place where the lines between realities often blur…"

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry." The woman smiled warmly, "Let me put it in another way. When you dream, you come here. Most people who dream don't really remember much about what they see here and can't affect things in the Fade. Some people…you call them mages...can."

"Am I a mage?" Evelyn asked.

"No, my dear." Apeiria responded, "You're someone even more special."

"What am I?" The little girl asked with a nervous stutter.

"You'll find out when it is time." The woman replied with a smile as she opened the door again, this time revealing a young girl playing with what looked like to Evelyn, a strange tablet. "Know also that you are not alone. There are others like you."

"Like me?"

"Yes." Apeiria affirmed, "You'll learn more when you get older and you're ready, but…my sweet Evelyn…I think I can tell you this much…you…like that little girl there and others…will soon be part of something very special—an age of miracles."

"Miracles?"

"Yes. Miracles." Apeiria nodded her head, "But there'll be time enough for that later. For now, I sense that you are about to awaken. Don't worry, my dear, I'll be here to watch and guide you along your way."

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_Highever Castle—Evelyn at age 12_

"Our daughter does have an active imagination." Bryce laughed as he and his wife talked over a late night meal.

"Maybe a little too active." Eleanor worried, "Reverend Mother Mallol is concerned."

"Has she shown any magical talent?" A suddenly worried Bryce inquired.

"No." Eleanor shook her head. "The Reverend Mother had her tested by a Circle Mage who said that she showed no magical aptitude whatsoever." Sighing, the teyrna remarked, "It would almost be better if she did. Then we'd at least know from where those strange stories of hers comes from." Letting out another breath, Eleanor cautioned, "Mother Mallol was mostly concerned for our daughter's soul—she's afraid that she might lose Andraste's favor."

"I doubt that." Bryce chuckled, "Our daughter is just very creative—that's all."

"That she is." Eleanor laughed softly, "But her sketches and paintings can be a little…strange."

"Things from her dreams?" Bryce asked.

"Yes."

"Buildings that reach out to the sky…carts without horses…objects flying through the air…" Bryce laughed, "Nothing harmful…just a sign that our little girl has an active imagination—that's all."

"I certainly hope you're right." Eleanor sighed as the pair looked on while their daughter sang to the newest addition to the Cousland family—Fergus's baby boy, Oren.

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_Dreaming—Evelyn at age 15_

"Reverend Mother Mallol and Brother Aldous say I have too active an imagination." Evelyn giggled as she and Apeiria, her dream-companion, walked together down an isolated beach.

"They say that as if it's a bad thing." Apeiria laughed, "My child…" She smiled as she looked down on the young teenager walking with her, "Your imagination is probably your greatest gift. That imagination is one of the reasons why you are walking with me here and now."

"Where is the line between reality and imagination though?" Evelyn asked as the waves lapped about their feet.

"That's a good question." Apeiria replied. "And there are no easy answers. The line between what is real and what is not is a blurry one. For instance…" Apeiria said as she cuddled a cat in her arms. "If I were to take this cat and place him in that box over there…" The then pointed to a small chest sitting on the shoreline, "…and close the box, would the cat still be in the box?"

"Of course he would." Evelyn laughed.

"Really?" Apeiria responded with a raised eyebrow. "Can you see the cat in the box?"

"No." Evelyn admitted and then countered, "But I could hear him meow."

"But would that be him or just a sound?" Apeiria riposted. "And what if the box was soundproof where you couldn't hear what was inside? Your senses can tell you nothing…so…can you definitively prove that the cat is in the box?"

Shaking her head, Evelyn answered back, "So, you're saying that reality is perception?"

"In part…" Apeiria replied, "Yes. But what I'm really trying to say is that there are many layers of reality. For instance, remember when we first met and you saw those different people—the elves, the mages, the dwarves?"

"Yes." Evelyn nodded her head.

"Well they all come from different Thedas." Apeiria declared, further explaining. "They exist in different realities.

"So…" Evelyn surmised, "There are other versions of me running around?"

"No." Apeiria shook her head as she smiled down at her protégé. "You are unique. In all the multiverse, there is only one Evelyn Cousland. In other realities, your mother and father do indeed have a daughter, only her name is Elissa."

"So…am I the only unique person in all the multiverses?" Evelyn asked.

"Oh no." Apeiria shook her head. "There are others. Some like yourself young and with much to learn. And others old…as old as reality itself."

"You mean like the Maker?"

"Even older and more powerful than your Maker." Apeiria replied with an amused laugh, "But…you might not want to tell your Reverend Mother Mallol or your Brother Aldous or your parents that—they probably won't like it."

"No…I don't think they would." Evelyn giggled.

"You'll be awakening soon, my dear." Apeiria said as the sun began to descend below the water. "Enjoy your time now with those you love…every moment is fleeting and every memory precious."

"You say that as if something bad is about to happen?" A suddenly worried Evelyn responded, "Is there something I should know about?"

"The future holds many possibilities my dear." Apeiria responded, "Not even I can tell you the exact path you and those you love will take. But…just remember what I said…enjoy your time with those you love."

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_Highever Castle—Evelyn at age 18._

"Good feint, Pup!" Fergus Cousland grinned at his younger sister as the pair sparred, he armed with sword and shield while she wielded a pair of daggers in her hands. "You almost had me there."

"Guess I've got to work on that." Evelyn quipped back as she dodged to her left, barely avoiding her brother's sword thrust. Smirking as she saw her opening, the young woman struck, parrying with her left dagger while striking with her right, touching the armor of her brother in the chest.

"Point. Evelyn Cousland!" Ser Aedan, acting as marshal, called out as both fighters disengaged. "The score is currently tied. Do both contestants wish to fight another round?"

"No." Fergus called back, "I think four rounds are enough." Turning back to his sibling, the Cousland heir praised, "Sister…if anything, I think you've grown even quicker and more nimble."

"That she has, my lord." Ser Aedan agreed and then looked disapprovingly on the Chasind-made belted loin-cloth and top made of reptile hide that the younger Cousland sibling preferred to wear, "But I wish my lady would wear proper armor—at least leather armor—although I would be more comfortable seeing her in scale or even chain-mail.

"Too bulky." Evelyn shook her head. "Even leather armor. I need to be able move fast on my feet…to react quickly. I can't do that if I'm burdened by all that weight."

"All it takes is one solid hit…" Fergus began only to be cut off by his sister.

"Got to hit me first." Evelyn teased, "And as you've seen, that's not easy."

"No…" Fergus agreed before demurring, "But I did it on at least two occasions."

"True." Evelyn nodded her head, growing serious for a moment, "But then that's why we do this, isn't it, so that someone else won't be able to hit me." She then laughed in delight as a loud bark signaled the arrival of a massive brown furred mabari war hound. "Besides, Izzy would never let anything happen to me, right, boy?"

The loyal mabari responded with an affirming bark as his mistress petted him and rubbed his tummy. "That's my boy!" Evelyn cooed. Then standing up, she wrinkled her nose as she jibed with her brother, "I think we both need baths."

Agreed, Pup!" Fergus laughed, "Besides, Oriana will beat me even worse with her tongue if I am late for dinner. I'll see you later."

"Tell Oren if he's good, I'll tell him some more stories, and maybe even sing a song." Evelyn smirked as she and her brother departed.

"Eighteen years." Bryce grinned as he and his wife, Eleanor, watched as their young daughter left the field with her older brother. "Our little pup has grown into a lovely young woman."

"And a headstrong one too." Eleanor sighed with a mixture of pride and exasperation. "We need to begin finding a husband now—it is almost too late."

"I know." Bryce nodded his head before letting out a breath of air, "At least she's no longer talking about those strange dreams. She isn't…is she?"

Chuckling, Eleanor replied, "At least now she only tells them as stories to Oren."

"Thank the Maker." Bryce shook his head, "I think she nearly drove both Mother Mallol and Brother Aldous mad with her talk of flying metal monsters and carts without horses."

"She's telling Oren a new one now." Eleanor remarked, "This one is about a man in red and gold iron armor who flies through the air!"

"Flying through the air?" Bryce laughed. "Well…at least he's wearing armor." The teyrn declared. "Maybe she's telling him stories about the Grey Wardens back when they rode griffons."

"I don't think so." Eleanor replied, her laughter dying down, "I didn't catch all of the story, but it seems almost as if the armored man is a mage—fire coming out of his hands for instance. Still…at least it's a story based in the real world and not her fantasy dreams."

"Yes…" Bryce smiled, "Maybe that's a good sign."

"We can only hope!" Eleanor sighed as the pair walked away, arm-in-arm.

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Slipping once again into the Fade, Evelyn dreamed. Only this dream was different from the others. Barely maintaining her footing, Evelyn's dream form cringed at the sound of loud explosions. Shocked, Evelyn found herself in a metal corridor surrounded by metal. Making her way stumbling through an open doorway, Evelyn gasped in surprise as she witnessed first, the sky, and then two men fighting. One man wore what appeared to be blue armor with white and red and carried a shield also in red, white, and blue, with a white five-pointed star emblazoned in the middle. They seemed to be fighting over a glowing blue cube. The battle raged fiercely as the metal structure began to collapse around the combatants until finally, the shield wearing man, gaining the upper hand, defeated his foe just as the metal thing was about to fall into the water. Panicking, Evelyn screamed.

"What…Who…" The man, a look of utter surprise on his face, called out as he looked directly at Evelyn.

"You can see me?" Evelyn gasped as the water flooded in.

Suddenly, Evelyn found herself standing in what seemed to be an outdoor inn or tavern. There were tables and chairs and people where people sat down and drank from ceramic cups. Looking down, the Cousland girl found herself wearing strange blue pants made of a material that was not at all uncomfortable and wearing a cotton shirt with the image of a dragon emblazoned on the front.

"Would you like some coffee, my dear?"

Turning towards the source of the voice, Evelyn found that it was her guide, Apeiria, wearing what appeared to be a skirt and sipping from a ceramic cup. Setting the cup down, Apeiria poured a hot brown liquid from a container into the empty cup across from her. "Come, join me, Evelyn."

"Where was I? Where am I?" A near panic-stricken Evelyn exclaimed.

"It's all right, Evelyn." Apeiria replied in a gentle, soothing, voice. "You're safe. You're still dreaming."

"Is this the Fade?" Evelyn asked.

"Yes…and no." Apeiria replied with a grin. Her smile vanishing, the spirit elaborated, "Sit down and have some coffee, and I'll try to explain."

"Coffee?" Evelyn inquired as she sat down and sniffed cautiously at the steaming hot beverage before her.

"Go ahead, it's safe. I prefer it with a little cream, but you might like it with some sugar too." Apeiria said encouragingly as she poured a dollop of cream into Evelyn's cup and pushed a bowl of sugar cubes towards her. Seeing the smile on the young woman's face, Apeiria grinned, "See…I told you." Her face now taking on a more serious expression, the spirit spoke, "But I was about to explain about the Fade. The first thing you're going to have to do…" Apeiria began, "…is forget all your previous conceptions about what the Fade is and isn't. Yes, you do go there when you dream. And yes, in most cases, you can't really effect the environment there and it can't really harm you. But…there are exceptions."

"Exceptions?"

"Yeah. Like you and me and a few others." Apeiria answered back, "I'll explain. But first, you need to understand a bit more about the layout of the Fade. What it is…what it's a part of…and all that. And then, I can begin to tell you how you're probably going to fit in."

"Probably?"

"Right." Apeiria nodded her head, "It's all about choice and free will. But…" The woman chuckled, "I'm getting ahead of myself. What you have to understand is that Thedas, the Fade, this place…"

"Where are we, by the way?" Evelyn inquired as a horseless cart whizzed past them on the street.

"This place is modeled after a little outdoor bistro in Firenze that I'm fond of." Apeiria replied.

"Firenze?"

"Yes." Apeiria grinned, "Remember when we talked about different realities?" Seeing Evelyn's nod of her head, the woman continued her explanation. "Well, Firenze is on another world in another reality."

"In the multiverse?" Evelyn interjected in a confused voice.

"Right." Apeiria nodded her head. "We didn't really talk too much about the multiverse the last time—you weren't really ready for it. But, I think you're ready now…at least a little more ready than you were. Worlds like Thedas and the world where this bistro comes from…the stars in the sky…the stuff in between the stars in the sky…the galaxies…and everything else are linked together into this very complicated and interlocking system of planes and dimensions. The Fade is but a part—and a rather small part at that—of a much larger plane of existence called the astral plane that exists both within and apart from the material plane.

"You're confusing me." Evelyn stammered as she sipped her coffee.

"I'm sorry." Apeiria apologized. "It is very difficult to explain. Suffice it to say that generally, most people live their lives in the same plane of existence not even knowing these other planes are present except maybe as vague religious or philosophical constructs. Your parents, for example, have lived and will continue to live their entire lives on Thedas, only coming into the Fade when they dream; as, most likely, will your brother Fergus and his family."

"But me?" Evelyn asked.

"You, my dear…" Apeiria smiled, "Have the possibility to be and know so much more."

"What am I, exactly?" Evelyn demanded. "You said once that I was unique."

"And so you are." Apeiria replied, adding apologetically, "But it's not for me to tell you who or what you are—at least not yet. And it's not because I don't want to. It's because I can't. Believe it or not, I've got rules I've got to follow too. You see…" The woman explained. "You have to choose your path—I can't do that for you. What I can tell you though…" Apeiria leaned forward, looking her young protégé in the eyes as she spoke, "…is that you will have to make several choices on your journey. Some of the choices, regardless of the choice or the outcome, won't affect whether you succeed or not. Oh…they might make things easier or more difficult for you, but by themselves, they won't really affect the bigger picture. It's the other choices you have to be careful about. Those choices will have a dramatic impact and, if you choose poorly, could potentially end your journey. Soon…very soon…my dear…you will be faced with the first of those choices. I will tell you this, that choice will determine your future. Choose wrongly, and your journey will end before it has even begun. That choice will be followed by many others that will also be crucial choices. You'll know them when you see them."

"But what about that man and that glowing blue thing?" Evelyn inquired, "You never told me about him."

"They both might or might not figure into your journey at some point in your future." Apeiria answered back, "Again, it depends on how you choose, the questions you ask and what you do with the answers once you get them. I can't tell you much about either the man or the object except to say that the man is a truly noble man, and the object is something of great power and danger. It is so powerful that it could threaten the very existence of the multiverse."

"How do you know all this and how do I know which choice is the right choice?" An increasingly distraught Evelyn pleaded. "I've just turned eighteen years!"

"I know, my dear." Apeiria gently patted Evelyn on the back of her hand. "It is all a bit difficult to take in, beginning with me trying to explain who or what I am. Let's just say I'm not like the spirits and demons that live here…and no…I'm not Andraste. Make good choices, and you might find out more about me later."

"Again with the choices." Evelyn pouted.

"Of course there are choices." Apeiria replied with a smile. "We all have free will. We determine our own paths and our own destinies—for good or for ill."

"And this place?" Evelyn inquired, "Will I ever get to see the real Firenze?"

"Maybe." Apeiria responded with a grin and a twinkle to her eye, "Someday. If you choose wisely. Now…my dear…" The woman declared as she rose to her feet, "It is time you awakened. "You have a big day coming soon. Be ready for it when it arrives."

_I guess you could call this a partial origin story for Evelyn Cousland. This story is really the prologue to other stories and kind of sets the stage. This is a crossover with the Marvel Universe—I will be using different parts of the Marvel Universe including, but not limited to the Cinematic Universe, the Game Universes—including Marvel Heroes Online—and Marvel 616. The next story in the series will be almost entirely Dragon Age so don't expect to see Cap or anyone else from the Marvel Universe making an appearance—but it will further set the stage for what will come. And…as for who Apeiria is—well, the answer's in plain sight. :) _


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you for your kind response to the first part of this story. It has been suggested to me that instead of starting a new story, that I just add this story on as additional chapters and I'll go ahead and do that. This story should give you a good idea as to exactly who or what Apeiria is—and yes, she is a character/entity within the Marvel Universe._

Infinity's Child

Part Two

Evelyn Cousland brushed back a stray lock of red hair as she strode into her father's study. Her bronze hued skin still sweaty from her workout, Evelyn apologized as she approached her father sitting behind his desk. "I'm sorry, Father. I was engaged in fighting practice with Ser Gilmore when I received word of your summons."

"Fighting practice, eh?" Bryce replied with raised eyebrows, "Is that what they're calling it nowadays?"

"Father!" Evelyn gasped in mock outrage, "I'll have you know that I'm as innocent as a newborn babe!"

"A newborn babe who leaves a trail of broken hearts in her wake." Bryce snorted and then, his laughter fading away, quickly got to the point of his summons. "Arl Howe should be arriving within a few hours with an advance guard of his men. He's already a day late and the rest of his army is lagging behind, but his messengers have announced that he is nearly here. When he arrives, I'll want you to meet us in the main hall. I have something important to tell you and I want Lord Howe there when you're informed."

"Of course, Father." Evelyn acknowledged enthusiastically, anticipating that the news was going to be her father telling her that she would be accompanying him and the Arl of Amaranthine to Ostagar.

"Good, daughter. Also…" Bryce added almost as an afterthought, "Don't be surprised if the arl brings up the subject of marriage between you and his son, Thomas…."

"Thomas!" Evelyn protested, "He looks like a dead fish! Just like his father!"

"Evelyn!" Bryce chastised, raising his voice an octave, "I'll not have you saying such things about our friend and ally." _No matter how true they are_. Bryce didn't say.

"I'm sorry, Father." Evelyn apologized, putting on a mask of sincerity that seemingly fooled her father.

"I guess that'll do." Bryce replied, permitting his daughter to think that her deception worked. Softening his tone, the teyrn offered words of paternal advice, "Marriage is something that you need to consider, Pup. We need to firm up alliances with the other noble houses and a good marriage is an excellent means of accomplishing that task. I want you to find a spouse that you would be happy spending your life with—provided he is of proper lineage, of course. But you do need to think of a permanent match and I am sorry, Ser Gilmore…while a man of good character and breeding…is not the man for you. He would be an excellent match for the daughter of a bann or lesser arl though…" Bryce thought aloud, "Perhaps I should talk to Eleanor and Arl Howe about that…maybe we could arrange a marriage between him and Delilah?"

"Is that all, Father?" Evelyn asked, interrupting her father's ruminations.

"Yes, Pup." Bryce nodded his head. "I shall see you soon in the main hall."

"So…is everything all right, my lady?" Ser Gilmore inquired as he met Evelyn in the hallway outside her father's study.

"Just fine, Ser Gilmore." Evelyn replied with a twinkle in her eyes as she favored her not-so-secret paramour with a grin. "Father says that Lord Fish Face and his men will be here soon and that I'm to meet them in the main hall with him."

Barely suppressing his laughter at Evelyn's nickname for the Arl of Amaranthine, Ser Gilmore cautioned in a soft voice, "That means I'll have to be there too and we'll have to be discreet."

"To the Void with being discreet." Evelyn grumbled as the pair walked together down the hallway. "I like you…you like me. It's as simple as that."

Sighing, Ser Gilmore shook his head, "It's not that simple, Evelyn, and you know it. You're the daughter of the Teyrn; I'm a knight in his service. Your mother and father have looked the other way at our relationship because we've been careful. Besides the immediate family and the household staff, no one knows—or if they do know, they're not talking. But…if we were to be open…"

"Father and mother would have conniptions." Evelyn sighed, "I know. Still, I am not going to marry Son of Fish Face. I don't care what mother and father say. If they try to force me, I'll run off to Orlais and become a bard."

"Well…" Ser Gilmore smiled, "Hopefully it won't come to that." As they reached the door to her chambers, the couple looked to be sure no one was about and watching. Satisfied that no one was snooping, Ser Gilmore leaned in and gave Evelyn a gentle kiss. "Until later."

"Later." Evelyn whispered as she kissed her lover back. Entering her room, Evelyn looked around for Izzy, but couldn't find him. Chuckling, Evelyn quipped to herself, "Bet you've found some way to get yourself and me trouble, Izzy. Well…" She took a deep breath as she stripped off her fighting togs and sank into her tub, "Time enough for a bath before Fish Face." Luxuriating in her warm bath, Evelyn slipped off to sleep.

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"_Evelyn?"_

"_Apeiria? Is that you?" _Evelyn asked as she noticed her dream-guide standing alone in the fog, wearing a black coat that went down to her knees.

"_Yes." _Apeiria replied, _"We need to talk and we don't have much time."_

"_What is it?"_ Evelyn, feeling a sense of urgency emanating from the entity before her, inquired as she drew closer.

"_Remember when we talked about your having to make some important choices?"_ Apeiria asked, reminding her protégé about their earlier conversation.

"_Yes."_ Evelyn nodded her head.

"_That time has now come."_ Apeiria declared. _"You will have choices to make—big ones. Starting once you awaken. Choose wisely, my child, not only for your sake, but for the sake of uncounted numbers of others."_

"_No stress."_ Evelyn grumbled as she took in the grave.

"_I sorry, my dear." _Apeiria's lips turned up in a sad smile, _"I wish I could do more for you, I've tried to prepare you as best I could, but the rest has to be up to you."_

"_Free will." _Evelyn sighed.

"_Exactly."_ Apeiria smiled back. _"Take care, my dear, and know that we will speak again at least once more."_

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"Busy day." Ser Gilmore remarked as he met Evelyn in the corridor outside the main hall. "Your mabari helps us thwart an invasion of giant rats, Arl Howe has arrived, and Ser Fergus is being dispatched to Ostagar with most of our forces."

"Tell me about it!" Evelyn giggled. "I thought Nan was going to have a litter of kittens. Still…wild rats coming in from the Korcari Wilds…not a good sign."

"No it isn't." Ser Gilmore agreed and then asked the pair walked together down the corridor, "So, how did the audience with your father and Lord Howe go? Were you able to talk him into letting you accompany your brother?"

"What do you think?" Evelyn pouted. "Father has placed me in charge of the Teyrnir while he's gone. I'll be bored to tears inside a week!"

"Well…" Ser Gilmore smiled, "It is an important job and, for what it's worth, I think you'll make an excellent regent."

"Compliments will get you everywhere." Evelyn grinned slyly and then remarked, "You'll never guess who was there with Father and Old Fish Face."

"Who?"

"A Grey Warden!" Evelyn replied, "His name was Duncan." She then teased in a sing-song voice, "And guess who he's thinking about asking to join the Grey Wardens?"

"Not you?" Ser Gilmore responded, "Your father and mother would never stand for it!"

"No…" Evelyn affirmed with a disappointed shake of her head, "Not me. Although he said I'd make a good one…"

"And so you would." Ser Gilmore earnestly agreed, "But…you know what your mother and father's reaction would be."

"Oh yes." Evelyn nodded her head. "I got a taste of it in the audience chamber." The young red-head explained, "Duncan mentioned I'd be a good choice, the father got that look on his face…you know…the one that says 'you'd better not do what I think you're going to do', and then he asks Duncan whether he was planning to invoke the Right of Conscription."

"So…what did the Warden say?" Ser Gilmore inquired.

"He backed off real quick!" Evelyn laughed. "You know how father can get!"

Laughing, Ser Gilmore replied, "I do indeed. So…who is he looking to recruit."

Her lips turned up in an impish smile, Evelyn teased, "You'll never guess…"

"Ser Aedan? Can't be Ser Jory…the Wardens already recruited him…"

"They did?" Evelyn exclaimed, "I didn't know that there was a Warden here. When did this happen?"

"About a week ago." Ser Gilmore answered, "While you were away in Denerim. There was a tourney. He took the Grand Melee, but didn't do so well in the individual."

"Hmmm…" Evelyn hummed, considering her words, "From what little I've seen of Ser Jory, he's a solid and competent enough man…but not the sharpest knife in the drawer—if you catch my meaning."

"I do indeed." Ser Gilmore nodded his head. "He's a friendly and affable enough man—I've never heard a cross word spoken by him. And, I think he'd be solid in a fight with normal opponents…but I'm not sure he'd do well as a Warden. He's not exactly…"

"He's not the sharpest knife in the armory." Evelyn finished, "Yes…I know. I sparred with him once. He telegraphs his moves with that great sword of his—I took him out easy."

"I'm surprised he was recruited." Ser Gilmore commented, "The Grey Wardens must be desperate."

"That's the impression I got from my brief conversation with Duncan." Evelyn replied. "King Maric had just reinstated the Order before his disappearance and now, apparently, a Blight has come—talk about your bad timing."

"Bad timing indeed." Ser Gilmore nodded his head. "So…who is Duncan testing?"

"Why you—you silly goose!" Evelyn giggled.

"Me?" A surprised Ser Gilmore exclaimed, "Then why did they recruit Ser Jory first?"

"Don't know." Evelyn shrugged her shoulders as they reached the doorway to the Cousland family quarters. "Why don't you ask them when you see them?"

"I think I shall." Ser Gilmore replied as he opened the door for his red-headed companion. "Sleep well, Evelyn." He whispered as he leaned down to give her a quick kiss.

"You too, Gilmore." Evelyn whispered back. "I'll see you in the morning."

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"Please, my lady!" Ser Gilmore exclaimed as the pounding on the great oak doors grew more intense. "Those doors will not keep out Lord Howe's men for long. I and my men will buy you and her ladyship as much time as we can—but every second you stay here is a second less time we can give you!"

"Come with us!" Evelyn pleaded. "We…I…need you!"

"You know I can't do that." Ser Gilmore replied as his eyes fell on the men holding fast at the door. "I can't abandon these men to their fates alone. Please don't ask me to."

"I know." Evelyn whispered as she felt her mother's gentle hand on her shoulder. "But I had to at least give you the choice." Turning away to leave, she gave her lover one last look, "Stay alive Gilmore—I'll find you—if I have to tear Arl Howe's estate down around him to do it, I'll find you."

"I'll hold you to that promise, Evelyn." Ser Gilmore smiled back. Then, turning his attention back to the main door, the knight barked out orders. "Mala…take your archers over there—you'll have a better field of fire. Harker—take those skirmishers or yours and place them on either side. The heavy infantry will soak up most of the attack while you hit them in flanks!"

"I offer you a choice, Lady Cousland." Duncan, the Grey Warden, his armor smeared with blood, said in a grim tone. "The Blight is a real danger that threatens to consume us all."

"He's right, Pup." Bryce groaned as he struggled to rise to his feet. Eleanor, at his side, urged her husband to stay down. "Go…become a Warden…stop the Blight. Find your brother and take vengeance on Howe for us.

"Please, darling." The Teyrna begged, adding her pleas. "Allow us this one last act as your parents. Go…save yourself and your brother."

As Izzy's plaintive whine added to the pleas, Evelyn sighed as she remembered Apeiria's warning. "Choices. It's always about choices."

"What was that?" Duncan inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Letting out a deep breath, Evelyn replied as her eyes moistened with tears, "It seems I must make a choice. Turning to her mother and father, the young red-head sobbed, "I'm sorry mother…father. I wish I could take you with me…"

"You know you can't, Pup." Bryce smiled back. "We'd only slow you down."

"You must go and go now, darling." Eleanor added as Duncan placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Maker guide your path."

"Take care of my little girl, Duncan." Bryce groaned as his wife helped her husband to his feet. "She's special—in more ways than you can imagine."

"Of that, my friend." Duncan replied as he gently, but firmly, guided Evelyn to the bolt hole, "I am sure."

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Tossing and turning on the hard ground, Evelyn finally fell asleep. As she dreamed, she found herself on the battlements of Castle Highever with Apeiria standing beside her. The pair watched in silence as flames consumed both the castle and the nearby town. _"So…"_ Evelyn sobbed, _"This is what you meant by having to make a choice."_

"_The first of many, my dear."_ The woman replied in a somber voice. _"And the choices will not get any easier."_

"_Not much of a life to look forward to."_ Evelyn groaned.

"_Oh…I don't know about that." _Apeiria replied, _"Depending on the choices you make, you'll make friends—friends that will stand by your side and remain loyal no matter what. You might even find happiness in the arms of another."_

"_Again…" _Evelyn sighed, _"It all depends on my choices."_

"_Of course it does." _Apeiria answered back in a grave tone. _"What would you rather have? Everything laid out for you from birth to death in a straight line where you have no control over your destiny?"_

"_Sometimes."_ Evelyn retorted, _"I think it would be easier."_

"_Like them?"_ Apeiria asked with a derisive snort. As she waved her hand, the image of the burning town disappeared to be replaced by the sight of men women and…other strange creatures…wearing a skintight body suit and with shaven heads and what appeared to be letters and numbers on the body suit, "_This is a land called Genosha and these poor souls are what are known as mutates."_ Apeiria explained, _"They went through a process where their powers and gifts were magnified, but in exchange their will was taken away from them…"_ Evelyn then watched in horror as a young woman about her age underwent the painful transition from normal to mutate. _"That girl and others like her became little more than slaves to their masters."_

"_You said became—what happened to them?" _Evelyn inquired.

"_The Genoshans were overthrown."_ Apeiria replied as images of colorful beings now appeared. A dark skinned woman, majestic in appearance, flying through the air, brought down lightning and the winds and rain, while a man shot read beams of light from his eyes and another, metal clad giant of a man, picked up what appeared to be a metal cart and threw it hundreds of yards with little more than a grunt. _"They were overthrown by beings called the X-Men who sought and are seeking a better world. The X-Men have made choices too—some good…some…not so good. You might or might not learn more about them later" _Apeiria again waved her hand. This time, Evelyn saw that she was back on Thedas, inside a chamber with several mages and templars looking on. The mages were chanting as a mage dressed in the robes of the First Enchanter and a templar bearing the armor of a Knight Commander approached the mage in the center, an elven woman about Evelyn's age, who had had her head shaven. The First Enchanter seemed to look upon the young elf with an expression that seemed both sorrowful and disappointed. He then uttered a chant and placed his hand on the woman's forehead.

"_What just happened?" _Evelyn queried, _"Who was that woman and what did they do her?"_

"_It's called the Rite of Tranquility." _Apeiria replied in a somber tone. _"She made a choice recently and is now facing the consequences of that choice. The reason why she is there instead of here with Duncan…" _The woman again waved her hand, this time revealing the image of a sleeping Duncan, _"Is that Duncan made the choice to come to Highever before going to her. Had he have chosen to go to the Circle, she would have been spared while you would have died."_

"_So…you're saying everything and everyone is interconnected in some way."_ Evelyn concluded.

"_You're learning."_ Apeiria responded, pleased at her protégé's answer. _"Never forget that, my dear. Everything and everyone in the multiverse is connected somehow or other."_

"_You still haven't told me who you are?" _Evelyn inquired, _"How do you fit into all of this?"_

"_My brother and I are the ones who keep everything flowing." _Apeiria responded with a laugh. _"All of space and all of time. And believe me…" _The woman laughed, _"It's a handful!"_

"_So you're saying that you're…"_

"_The multiverse is full of infinite possibilities my dear." _Apeiria smiled. _"We'll talk more, but for now, I think it's time that you enjoyed a measure of dreamless sleep—you're going to need it for the trials ahead."_


	3. Chapter 3

Infinity's Child

Part 3

The trip to Ostagar was a somber one. Duncan, respecting his companion's grief, gave her the space and time she needed to heal until finally, a few hours before reaching their destination, Evelyn began to once again show signs of life. "Brother Aldous never said much about why your Order was expelled from Ferelden." She said as the pair rode together, "Can you tell me more. Why did the king at the time banish you? It doesn't make sense to get rid of those most capable of combatting a Blight."

Pausing for a moment as he considered his words, Duncan spoke in a calm, measured tone. "It was because the Warden Commander at the time—Sophia Dryden—committed one of the what you might call cardinal sins a Warden could commit."

"Sophia Dryden…" Evelyn murmured as she struggled to remember Brother Aldous' history lessons. "If I recall correctly, her family was stripped of all its lands and titles because she led the revolt against King Arlen."

"Correct." Duncan nodded his head. "The Drydens were stripped of everything, but there's more. You see, Sophia was also Warden Commander of Ferelden. She brought the Wardens into the revolt against the king."

"Aren't Wardens supposed to remain neutral and not get involved in politics?" Evelyn inquired.

"Indeed they are." Duncan affirmed. "The Order must remain neutral in order to do its work. We cannot be seen to be taking sides. Regardless of her reasons or motives, by joining the rebellion against Arlen, Sophia's actions did a lot of harm." Shaking his head, Duncan lamented, "We've only just recently regained the Crown's goodwill and our presence in Ferelden is a tentative one at best." Sighing, the senior Warden complained, "Because we have to be careful in our recruiting and because this Blight is already upon us, there is a shortage of Ferelden Wardens. The Orlesians have offered to make up the difference, but there are problems in relying on them…"

"I'll say there are!" Evelyn retorted, "Seeing as how they had, until recently, occupied our land and did a pretty good job in brutalizing everyone here."

"We must learn to overcome old animosities…" Duncan reproved, "Or risk being overwhelmed by the Blight."

"Easier said than done." Evelyn replied, not accepting the rebuke, "Especially if it were your wife or mother or grandmother who was raped by some chevalier who had taken a fancy to her or if it was your son or husband who had been killed because he didn't bow down quickly enough for that chevalier's ego. Try telling them that they need to overcome their animosities."

"But overcome them they must." Duncan persisted. "The darkspawn and the Blight are far worse than even the most dire excesses committed by the Orlesians." As they approached the gates to Ostagar, the senior Warden raised his hand. "We have arrived and there is King Cailan to meet us."

"He probably still doesn't know about Howe's treachery." Evelyn concluded.

"Probably not." Duncan agreed, adding, "Perhaps it would be best that I informed him?"

"Why?" Evelyn countered, "Think I might be a bit too emotional?"

"In a word…" Duncan replied, "Yes."

"Tough." Evelyn bit back, "I'm telling him and that's all there is to it. Now…let's get going…I want to see Cailan."

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"That went well..." Evelyn grumbled sarcastically as she and Duncan walked towards the army camp following their brief audience with the king. Promises to take care of things afterwards…"

"Did you expect anything else?" Duncan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No." Evelyn shook her head. "I'm no idiot—unlike the king…"

"Evelyn!" Duncan snapped, "I'll remind you that he is the king."

"And the king is a fool!" Evelyn retorted. "You know that…I know that. Look…" The fiery red-head said, softening her tone, "He's a nice guy and sweet in that lovable puppy dog sort of way, and maybe…just maybe…one day he'd grow up to be a good king. But he's nowhere near there yet."

"The problem is…" Duncan sighed, "We don't have a choice."

"You go to war with what you have." Evelyn let out a breath of air. "Yeah…that's what my father used to say."

"He was correct." Duncan nodded his head, "As he was in many other things." As the pair reached the edge of the camp, the senior Warden instructed, "Take some time to get yourself situated. Then I need to ask you to find Alistair and the other recruits and join me at the large campfire." He then pointed to a large bonfire in the center of the camp. "When you are done, meet me there. I'll have further instructions for you. Your mabari is welcome to join me at the fire. I think we can scrounge up some scraps or leftovers for him."

"Find Alistair and the other two recruits and meet you by the fire—got it." Evelyn repeated. Turning to Izzy, she ruffled her dog's fur as she spoke to him, "Go on with Duncan, Izzy. He's all right and he'll have some treats for you. Be good and I'll bring you some more treats."

The dog wagged his tail and barked happily as he and Duncan walked away. Pausing for a moment to take in the sights and smells of the camp, Evelyn noticed a white-haired mage standing in front of a tent, apparently also sight-seeing. The stunning redhead also noticed a man wearing leather armor chatting up, without much apparent success, a female soldier and another man whom she immediately recognized as Ser Jory kneeling in prayer. _All right…who do I see first? The dullard…the scoundrel…or the…whatever?_ Pausing for a moment as she considered her options, Evelyn's eyes fell on the sight of the kennel master withdrawing his arm in frustration after an apparently sick mabari had nearly taken it off. Approaching the man, Evelyn waved a greeting. "Hello! You seem to be having problems here? Anything I can do to help? I happen to have a mabari myself…or more like the mabari has me!" She laughed.

Joining Evelyn in her laughter, the kennel master replied, "There is more truth in that statement, my lady, than most people know." His laughter fading away, the kennel master's face took on a forlorn look, "I'm not sure if there is anything you can do, my lady. The problem, you see, is that these poor creatures have been infected with the darkspawn taint. I learned a little secret from…" He then lowered his voice to a very low whisper, "…an apostate mage who was a traveling healer of sorts that there's a white flower that grows naturally in the Korcari Wilds. Take that flower, add in some elfroot, deep mushrooms, and a touch of lyrium. It works quickly and the animal is completely cured."

"Interesting…" Evelyn mused, "I wonder…can it be used a prophylaxis, to prevent a mabari from getting the taint in the first place?"

"I've never thought of that!" The kennel master exclaimed. "I don't see any reason why not. If I had enough of it, we could find out."

"Great!" Evelyn smiled, "Look…I can't make any guarantees, but if I find myself in the Wilds, I'll see what I can do about getting you that flower. Also, if it's all right with you, we can try it on Izzy, my mabari, provided he's willing of course, and see if it does work as a preventative."

"I'd be much obliged, my lady." The kennel master bowed.

"My pleasure." Evelyn smiled back before remarking, "I wonder…if this cure works on mabari, why hasn't it been tried on humans? Do you know of it ever being tried on a human, dwarf, or elf?"

"No, my lady." The kennel master shook his head, "The healer never told me whether it would work on people at the time and I didn't think to ask him. I was young…" He explained, "And I and Elten, my mabari…" he said with a note of sadness in his voice, "…had run across a small band of darkspawn that had found their way out of the Deep Roads…they do that on occasion, you know. Anyway, Elten killed them all, but in doing so was seriously injured and infected by the taint. This healer passed by and saw us and cured him and then told me about the cure and how to make it. I'm not sure if it would work on humans, elves, and dwarves or not."

"Can I get you to write down the ingredients and how to make the potion?" Evelyn pleaded, "I might in my travels happen upon a scholar who might know or be able to find out. If this can cure us of the taint—or prevent us from getting the taint in the first place—imagine what that would mean."

"Most assuredly, my lady." The kennel master smiled, "It would be my pleasure. Please wait a few moments and I'll return with what you need." Minutes later, the man returned with a parchment. "Here, you go, my lady. I hope this proves of benefit."

"It just might one day." Evelyn replied as she carefully slipped the parchment into her satchel. "I had best go now, but if I go into the Wilds, I will keep an eye out for that flower."

"Interesting conversation…" Evelyn remarked to herself as she approached the first of her fellow recruits, a dark haired roguish man wearing leather armor and with a long bow and quiver slung on his back. "Hello." Evelyn politely introduced herself to the man whom she found out to be named Daveth. After several moments of idle chit-chat, Evelyn sent the man off to the bonfire where Duncan awaited. "All right…menial task number one completed." The redhead smirked, "Now…where to go? Seeing the white haired mage standing to herself, Evelyn decided to make her introductions. "Always pays to stay on the good sides of those who can shoot a lightning bolt up your ass." Evelyn muttered softly as she approached the mage.

"Ah…you must be Duncan's new recruit." The mage said as Evelyn drew closer.

Nodding her head in greeting, Evelyn replied, "Yes, my name is Evelyn. A pleasure to meet you."

"And I am Wynne and I am pleased to meet you as well. I am…as you've probably already guessed…" Her lips curled up in an amused grin, "…a member of the Ferelden Circle of Mages."

"It is good to have the mages with us." Evelyn tactfully replied.

"For someone of your youth, you seem to be quite the diplomat." Wynne observed with a mild chuckle.

"My father always said that you could catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar." Evelyn answered back, her mood momentarily darkening as her mind flashed back to happier times with her family.

"Your father sounds like a wise man." Wynne commented, her tone tentatively consoling as she noticed the younger woman's sudden depression.

"He was." Evelyn nodded her head in response. "Unfortunately, his wisdom didn't help him when he needed it to."

"I am sorry…" Wynne said in a gentle tone and then tactfully changed the subject, "What do you know about the darkspawn and how they originated?"

"Not much." Evelyn confessed, "Just what I was taught by Reverend Mother Mallol, Brother Aldous, and what little Duncan has told me. Why? Do you know something more?"

"What do you know of the Fade?" Wynne replied, answering Evelyn's question with a question.

Remembering her dream conversations with Apeiria, Evelyn's lips turned up in a half grin, "Oh…I know that we are all linked in ways that cannot be imagined. The cosmos is infinite and eternal."

"Curious…" Wynne remarked as her eyes reflected a careful reappraisal of the young woman standing before her. "Hopefully, after the battle we shall speak more of this."

"I look forward to it." Evelyn replied as she turned away, "But for now, I had best go. I need to round up a few strays and get back to Duncan."

Wynne responded with a laugh, "Then I had best let you collect your lost sheep. It would not do to keep Duncan waiting for too long. We shall talk more later."

Approaching the Chantry service where Ser Jory knelt in prayer, Evelyn politely waited until the Chant had concluded and the knight had risen to his feet. "Ser Jory?" Evelyn introduced herself.

"Lady Cousland." The dim-witted knight responded deferentially, "I am surprised to see you here. If you are looking for your brother, I am sorry, but Lord Fergus is scouting the Wilds with his men."

"So I've been told by His Majesty." Evelyn replied with a nod. "I'm not here as a Cousland though." She declared, "I'm here as your fellow recruit."

"You're to be a Grey Warden as well!" The knight happily exclaimed. "That is most excellent news."

"Not so good, Ser Jory." Evelyn replied, "You see, my father and mother were both killed by Arl Howe and his men and Castle Highever and the town sacked."

Upon hearing the news, Ser Jory immediately grew despondent, "My wife? Have you heard any news of her? She was with child…I must go to her."

Placing a firm, yet gentle hand on the knight's wrist, Evelyn shook her head, "That's probably not a good idea, Ser Jory. There's a man in a cage over there who they're about to execute for desertion and he was just prowling around the campsite at night. Now, I know you're no coward or deserter…" She said in a placating voice, "…but they're not concerned about that. They're looking to set examples to discourage cowardice and desertion, and they're not going to be too picky about who they make examples out of."

"But my wife…" Ser Jory protested.

"I'm sure she's fine." Evelyn responded in a kindly tone. "Once you became a Warden recruit, you left our service, so, they would not be looking to harm her." Evelyn tactfully remained silent about the fact that all bets were off when a city was sacked, there was no need to further worry the despondent knight. "Right now, though, you need to be focused. Duncan wants you to report at the bonfire." She said as if she were talking to a child, "I'm going to hunt down this Alistair bloke and join you there. Then we'll beat the darkspawn and go back to Highever with the army and you'll be reunited with your wife and I'll be able to settle some scores. Right?"

"Yes, my lady." The knight acknowledged.

"Great." Evelyn let out a breath of air, "Then I'll see you soon."

"Now…" Evelyn muttered to herself as she breezed past the quartermaster who was at that moment complaining about an elf and armor, "…to fetch the last stray." As she climbed the steps leading up to the old temple, the young redhead heard the sound of men arguing. Arriving on the scene, Evelyn spied a robed figure, obviously a mage, yelling at a not-unattractive blond-haired man wearing armor. Barely managing to maintain a neutral expression on her face, Evelyn watched as the mage stormed off in a huff after the man in armor had delivered, what to the young bard-in-training considered, a rather lame insult. As she approached the armor-clad warrior, Evelyn heard him call out in a faintly sarcastic tone.

"I don't suppose you're another mage, are you?"

"You're not a newt or a charred stump, are you?" Evelyn riposted.

"Point taken." The man replied, his demeanor relaxing. "Greetings. You must be the new recruit?"

Evelyn nodded her head in affirmation, "And you must be Alistair. Duncan wanted me to tell you to meet him at the bonfire."

"Excellent." The young Grey Warden exclaimed. "Have you met the other recruits?"

"Ser Jory and the would-be womanizer?" Evelyn chuckled as a wry smile crossed Alistair's lips. "Yes, I met them and sent them off to Duncan. They should be there by now."

"Great!" Alistair exclaimed. "Let's get going then."

"All right." Evelyn replied, adding, "And on the way over, perhaps you can answer some questions I have."

"I'll answer all the questions I can." Alistair replied, his expression now taking on a more guarded demeanor, as the pair began to walk down the steps, "But understand that there are some things I do not know and others that only Duncan can tell you."

Growing increasingly frustrated as her companion seemingly evaded much of her questions, Evelyn pounced on a juicy piece of information that Alistair had let slip. "If I survive?" She exclaimed in a loud voice, "What's all involved in this Joining?"

Instantly regretting his words, Alistair answered evasively as the pair neared the bonfire. "All I can tell you is that there are good reasons for doing what we do—including the Joining. You'll understand soon enough."

"Oh…I'm sure I'll understand." Evelyn grumbled, "But I'm not sure I'm going to like it."

"Ah…Alistair…" Duncan called out, rescuing his young apprentice. "It's good to see you here…provided you've finished riling up all the mages…"

"What can I say, Duncan…" Alistair began as Evelyn tuned out the conversation between the two men until finally, she heard Duncan's voice addressing her and the other recruits. She listened as the senior Warden issued his orders and then responded with a few pointed questions regarding the darkspawn blood and the joining, receiving in return only evasive answers until finally she, Alistair, and the other Wardens were dismissed.

"You'll soon understand…" A defensive Alistair declared as Evelyn and her little group exited the camp gate and entered the Wilds, "…that Duncan has good reasons for doing what he's doing."

"I don't like being treated as a deep mushroom…" Evelyn, not in the mood to be placated by smooth words, grumbled.

"What do you mean?" Alistair replied.

"Kept in the dark and shat upon." Evelyn snapped back. "I like knowing what I'm getting myself into and I don't like being told that I have to participate in arcane rituals involving darkspawn blood in order to join your super-secret society."

"The Grey Wardens do what we have to do to protect Thedas." Alistair vehemently protested. "And that includes the Joining. You'll understand why soon enough."

"You keep on saying that." Evelyn growled as the party neared the devastated remains of a scouting troop. Spotting a survivor, his body coated with blood, struggling to rise to his feet, the redhead rushed over to him. At once recognizing him as one of Fergus's Highever men, Evelyn called out, "Mikal? It's me…Evelyn Cousland! Stay where you are, I'm coming right to you."

"My Lady!" The injured soldier called back as Evelyn knelt down by his side.

"I'm here, Mikal. Give me a moment and I'll slap some bandages on you."

"Here." Alistair said as he handed Evelyn several bandages, and then kneeling down, helped her bandage the soldier's wounds.

"Thank you." Evelyn acknowledged before turning her attention back to the injured soldier, "Can you tell me what happened? Where are the rest of the Highever men and my brother?"

"I don't know, my lady." The soldier responded. "I and my men got cut off from the others. Lord Cousland ordered us to patrol this perimeter and act as a rearguard. We were ambushed by darkspawn. Strange thing, my lady…" Mikal noted, "They didn't kill the still living female soldiers we had…they dragged them off…"

Turning her head to Alistair and giving the junior Grey Warden a pointed look, Evelyn murmured, "I wonder why?"

Ignoring his charge's pointed question, Alistair addressed the soldier, "Can you return to camp on your own?"

"I can make it." Mikal replied. As Alistair and Evelyn helped the soldier to his feet, Mikal addressed Evelyn, "Be careful, my lady and I hope you find Lord Fergus alive and well."

"As do I, Mikal." Evelyn replied. "Now go and get yourself looked after."

As Mikal walked away, Ser Jory stammered, "Is this what we can expect? To be ambushed and cut down?"

"It'll be all right, Ser Jory." Evelyn responded encouragingly, flashing the knight her most winning smile, "We're all very capable warriors and I doubt we're going to be going into the teeth of the horde. All we have to do is get those vials of darkspawn blood and the treaties and then we go back to camp. A couple hours work and we're done—right?"

"That's right, Ser Knight." Daveth agreed. "We can do this."

"Yes, milady." Ser Jory replied as he fell into place behind the redheaded noble and the junior Grey Warden.

"Alistair…" Evelyn requested, "Walk with me a bit."

The pair walked in silence until Evelyn was sure that they were beyond earshot of the other two in their party. Then, she wheeled on the young Grey Warden, poking him in the chest with her finger. "Why in the Maker's name did Duncan recruit Ser Jory as a Grey Warden?" She demanded. "This whole experience is obviously beyond his ability to comprehend—much less deal with."

"Are you saying he's a coward?" Alistair retorted.

"No. He's no coward." Evelyn shook her head. "But surely you can see that he is not able to cope with—this. It's too much for him. He's just not mentally or emotionally prepared to combat darkspawn. Andraste's tits, I'm not sure I am! Duncan should have spotted that at once. So…why did he recruit him? To serve as fodder for the darkspawn?"

"No!" An outraged Alistair all but screamed, drawing the attention of the other two until he calmed down as Evelyn walked him further away. "No. We need more Wardens. You've seen how few we are."

"Yes." Evelyn nodded her head. "That's why you need to make especially sure that the recruits you take in are the best possible and Ser Jory is not the best possible recruit—he's not even the second or third best."

"You think so little of your own man?" An astonished Alistair snapped.

Biting back, Evelyn responded, "No. He's a good man. That's why I don't think he should be here. He should be back guarding and protecting his wife…"

"His wife might not even be alive." Alistair retorted without thinking.

Evelyn's hard slap across the former templar's face caused him to backpedal in shock. "Don't you think he knows that you jackass! Don't you think that's part of what's ripping him apart right now? Do you honestly think he is Warden material? Honestly?"

"I don't know." Alistair responded sheepishly as he rubbed his cheek. "But it's too late now. He's committed himself to the Wardens." He then looked pointedly at Evelyn, "That commitment cannot be withdrawn."

"Then I hold both you and Duncan responsible if anything bad happens to him because of your pig-headed stupidity." Evelyn announced as she quickly turned her back on the templar and walked back to the other new recruits. "Daveth? Ser Jory? Break time's over. Time to get moving."

After several encounters with the darkspawn and encountering the remains of two fallen Chantry missionaries and recovering one of their lockboxes, Evelyn and her party had defeated the last of the darkspawn camped, conveniently enough, at the Grey Warden ruins Duncan had marked for them. Searching about the ruins, Evelyn soon discovered a broken chest. "Guys!" The redhead called out, "Looks like someone else beat us to it."

"Who is it I wonder…" Turning rapidly in the direction of the voice, Evelyn spied a dark haired woman bearing a staff and wearing Chasind clothing. _Apostate mage_. The Cousland daughter immediately surmised, _handle with care_.

"My name is Evelyn Cousland." The redhead introduced herself, "You wouldn't happen to know where a bunch of old moldy documents scarpered off to, would you? If you do know, we'd be ever so grateful if you could point us in the correct direction."

Chuckling, the woman replied, "Greetings, my name is Morrigan and I do indeed know where your documents are…my mother took them."

"Those documents are Grey Warden property!" Alistair bleated, "Hand them back at once!"

Shaking her head in irritation, Evelyn stayed silent as she felt that Morrigan was doing a good enough job on her own berating the hapless ex-templar. Turning her attention back to Evelyn, a slight smile crossed the witch's face, "I will take you to my mother, if you'd like."

"That sounds like an excellent idea." Evelyn replied after hushing her companions' protests. "Lead on."

A short time later, Morrigan introduced the group to an elderly woman whom she introduced as her mother. The old woman dismissed both Daveth and Ser Jory with barely a glance. She gazed upon Alistair for several moments, her appraisal almost predatory. She then turned her attention towards Evelyn. As she gazed into Evelyn's eyes, the old woman's eyes widened in astonishment as she chuckled, " Chaos, Order, Infinity, Eternity, Oblivion, Death, and above it all the Three in One."

"What are you babbling on about?" Alistair interjected only to be hushed by the old woman.

"Don't speak when your betters are talking, child." The old woman admonished. She then turned her attention back to Evelyn, "So…why are you here Child of the Cosmos?"

"What did you just call me?" Evelyn asked. "Do you know something about where I came from?"

"Not much." The old woman replied, "Such knowledge is hidden even from me. But…I have a feeling answers will be forthcoming soon. But that isn't why you're here…" The old witch said as she presented a collection of documents, "You came for these—your treaties. Take them…you will need them soon. For now though, it is time you departed. Morrigan? Would you care to show your guests back out of the woods?"

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Events moved quickly as Evelyn suddenly found herself, along with Duncan and Alistair, both with grave looks on their faces, and Daveth, apparently unfazed by the ceremony about to unfold, and a much more guarded and uncertain Ser Jory, his eyes darting about and feet shuffling nervously. Placing a gentle hand on the knight's shoulder, Evelyn whispered encouragingly, "Relax, Ser Jory. In a few moments it'll be done and we'll all be Grey Wardens." Duncan then cleared his throat and began to speak.

"We are gathered here for the Joining…" Evelyn tuned out his words until he stated that some might have to make the ultimate sacrifice now rather than later.

A nervous Ser Jory quickly responded, "You mean we have to drink that…" He cried out, pointing at the goblet containing darkspawn blood. "And that it might kill us? What sort of blood magic is this?"

On hearing Ser Jory's words, Evelyn spoke in a soft voice, masking her growing anger, "Penny in the air…Penny drops."

"Huh?" Alistair muttered.

"A saying." Evelyn replied, "But not the point here." Turning back to Duncan, she said accusingly, "This is why you don't tell anyone about the Joining, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so." Duncan grimly replied, adding with just the faintest hint of menace in his voice, "And once begun, it must be seen through."

"Well, I'm ready." Daveth declared as he took the cup from Duncan's hands, taking a draught from it. Moments later, the Denerim cutpurse screamed as he collapsed to the ground writhing in pain until his quick, and apparently far from painless, death.

Shaking his head in sadness, Duncan simply stated, "Forgive me, Daveth." He then turned towards a stunned Ser Jory. Holding out the cup, he demanded, "Ser Jory."

"No." The knight vigorously shook his head as he backpedaled, his hands going to the hilt of his greatsword as Duncan approached him. "No…this is not what I thought it would be. I have a wife…an unborn child…"

Remorselessly, Duncan drew closer, drawing his sword and dagger. "You must."

"No!" Ser Jory cried out as he drew his greatsword. Faster and more agile, Duncan quickly got inside the arc of the sword and stabbed, skewering the knight in the chest. Whispering, "Forgive me," into the man's ear, Duncan withdrew his blade as Ser Jory's lifeless body sunk to the ground.

"You murdered him." Evelyn accused, her eyes flashing as her hands drew closer to her daggers. "All he wanted to do was go home to his wife and child."

"I had no choice." Duncan replied, a shiver going down the senior Warden's spine as he saw…something…in the eyes of the Cousland heir. Recovering quickly, he declared as his and Alistair's hands hovered near their weapons. "He drew on me first."

"Because you threatened him." Evelyn countered. Seeing in her peripheral vision the other Grey Wardens' hands edging towards their weapons. Evelyn forced herself to relax, "So…what happens now? Am I to drink from the poison bowl?"

"You must surrender yourself to the taint." Duncan declared as he presented the chalice to Evelyn.

Taking the chalice in her hands, she glared at both Duncan and Alistair. "I'll drink your foul brew. But know this, you two—if I survive this, I will one day see that Ser Jory, Daveth, and all the others dead as a result of your deception are avenged. I hope to be one of those avengers, but if not I, then others will avenge. She then drank from the bowl and promptly collapsed to the ground.

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_Not only did Evelyn hear the dragon, she felt it. Turning, she saw the Archdemon in all his glory, his breath purple flame as it consumed all before it. Catching her in his gaze, the Archdemon demanded, "Who…petty mortal are you?_

_Evelyn felt something it building inside her. At first, a warm glow, the feeling grew warmer and brighter until beams of light shot out of her hands, stunning the dragon. "Wha…" Evelyn stuttered as the shocked dragon retreated._

"_Surprised, my dear?"_

_Turning towards the voice, Evelyn immediately recognized Apeiria. "What just happened?"_

"_You just experienced a portion of what you truly are." The cosmic entity replied. "Unfortunately, you are still very much in the pupae stage. It is not yet time for you to fully develop into what you might become."_

"_Might become?"_

"_Yes." Apeiria nodded her head. "Whether you fully realize your transformation or not will depend on…"_

"_The choices I make." Evelyn finished._

"_You're learning, my dear." Apeiria smiled. "Now it is time you awakened. You still have much to do."_

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"Are you all right?" Alistair asked solicitously, "It was painful at my Joining too."

"Such are the sacrifices we all must go through." Duncan muttered.

Rising to her feet, Evelyn brushed off Alistair's effort to help her up with a curt, "I can manage myself." Fixing her glare on both men, the redheaded Warden declared, "I still haven't forgotten what you have done or what I have promised. The Blight is, for now, the bigger threat. But, after the Blight is over, there will be a reckoning."

"If you feel that it is necessary, then we will deal with that when the time comes." Duncan asserted. "But for now, we have business to attend to. The king has asked for you to join us at the war council. Finish what you need to finish and join us there."

"Fine." Evelyn nodded her head. "I need to find Izzy and then the kennel master and then I'll be there. Turning about, she walked away from both her fellow Wardens, the sneer of contempt on her face plain for all to see. "Izzy!" Evelyn smiled as her mabari rushed to her. "It's so good to see you again, boy. You been behaving yourself or have you been knocking up all the girl mabari?"

"Woof!"

"Yeah…I thought so. Look, boy…" Evelyn said, bending down and whispering low so that only her dog could hear. "We're stuck with Duncan and Alistair for now, but I don't trust either one of them as far as I can throw them and don't you trust them either. They just killed a good man because he didn't want to join their little club, so watch yourself with them." Hearing Izzy's confirming bark, Evelyn smiled, "Good boy! Now, we need to go see the kennel master so that I can drop off a flower for him and get you taken care of so that you can't catch the taint and then we get to listen to a bunch of idiots yell and scream at each other. Sound like fun?"

"Woof!"

"I thought you'd like it. Now, let's get going. I have a feeling we're going to be in for a bumpy ride."

_A few notes: First thanks to everyone for reading this story! I am going somewhat off-canon here. I have to really—otherwise, all I'll be doing is giving you the nth rendition of Ostagar and I don't think anyone wants that! I'll strive to maintain the spirit of canon and lore, but I can't guarantee that I'll be following every bit of canon to the letter—I have to have the ability to mix things up a little. As for Evelyn, you've now seen a small smidgen of what she's going to eventually grow into…_


	4. Chapter 4

Infinity's Child

Part 4

Evelyn rolled her eyes as everyone at the war council bickered with each other. If it wasn't the Reverend Mother and the bald mage trading barbs, then it was the king and Teyrn Loghain squabbling. Through it all, Evelyn remained silent until finally the king gave his orders. _Fine…whatever…_Evelyn muttered under her breath as she and Duncan left the meeting. Rejoining Alistair, Duncan issued his orders. Upon hearing that he would be responsible for lighting the signal fire along with Evelyn, Alistair sputtered, "I can see having Evelyn light the fire, she's new. But I should be in the front lines with you!"

"You have your orders, Alistair." Duncan declared, ending the discussion. Turning his attention to Evelyn, the senior Warden inquired, "And do you understand your mission?"

"Yeah." Evelyn replied with more than a tinge of insubordination in her voice, "I'm to light the fire, stay put, and babysit Alistair."

"Hey!"

"Enough!" Duncan snapped. "You have your orders."

"C'mon, Izzy." Evelyn called out to her dog, "We've got work to do." Turning to her fellow Grey Warden, the redhead sneered, "You ready?"

"Let's do this." Alistair muttered as the trio moved off towards the Tower of Ishal.

Watching as Alistair and his newest recruit ran off, Duncan breathed deeply and exhaled, "I truly am sorry for what I had to do, Evelyn, and for the rift it has created between us. I'm not sure it will satisfy you, but know that I will have much to answer to the Maker for and I have a feeling I will be rendering an account to him soon. Whatever you do Evelyn—who or whatever you are—please take care of Alistair. He might be Ferelden's only hope for a future worth having."

Far from being the easy, safe mission they thought it would be, the ascent up the Tower of Ishal proved to be a hard fight as they found the structure overrun with darkspawn. After saving the life of a mage who had been attached by the Circle to assist in the structure's defense, Alistair cursed as the tiny group made their way through the first of a series of obstacles and traps thrown up by their adversaries. "Where in the Void did the darkspawn come from?"

Pointing to a gaping maw where much of the floor had caved in, Evelyn sarcastically replied, "Where do you think?"

"They burst out of the ground." The mage confirmed, "And were on us before we even knew they were here."

"Just like in the Korcari Wilds." Evelyn nodded her head, "When they would try to ambush us. Remember, Alistair? You knew when they were about to strike and warned us…" Pausing for a moment, Evelyn shook her head, "How did you know they were about to strike? Is this part of being a Warden?"

Pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts, Alistair truthfully responded, "Yes. The taint gives us an awareness of the darkspawn presence. It takes time for the sense to develop though—you won't feel it right away."

"I see…" Evelyn replied and then inquired, "I take it this works both ways—that if we can sense the darkspawn, the darkspawn can also sense us?"

"The more intelligent darkspawn—alphas, emissaries, and such—yes." Alistair responded with a nod of his head. "I'm not so sure about the run of the mill darkspawn we've mostly been running into."

"They might pick up on us through blind instinct." Evelyn surmised. "I don't think the king or Teyrn Loghain have taken this into account." The young redhead conjectured. "They're used to thinking in two dimensions and they need to think in three here."

"What do you mean?" Alistair inquired.

"Well…" Evelyn explained, "They're expecting to fight a traditional stand-up battle. The king's forces acting as the anvil while Loghain's troops act as the hammer flanking the darkspawn. Normally, not a bad plan—you can take out a much larger army that way. But, it requires your timing to be right and you have to catch the enemy by surprise. Also, your center has to hold long enough. The problem here is that the darkspawn seem to be pretty quick diggers and they've had plenty of time to reinforce their army. If the darkspawn don't overwhelm the king's forces through sheer numbers, they'll catch them in the rear by tunneling under the ground—that's assuming the king doesn't do something stupid like launch a premature attack. The only way to defeat the darkspawn is to lure the archdemon out and kill it. Take out the head and the body falls apart."

"That's what Duncan hopes to do." Alistair pointed out.

"Maybe Duncan will get his wish…maybe not. Either way, he's taking a big gamble." Evelyn replied. "But we can't worry about that now." Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the young Warden announced, "We've got a job to do, so let's get to it."

"Yes, let's." Alistair agreed, happy for once to be on the same page as his reluctant companion. As the tiny group made their way up the tower stairs, Alistair whispered to his companion, "How does someone as young as you know so much about military strategy?"

"When you're the daughter of a teyrn, you have to learn this stuff." Evelyn replied, shrugging her shoulders, "Had Howe not betrayed us, I would have been left in charge of the castle and town's defenses while my father and Fergus were here. Father would never have placed me in charge if he didn't trust me to do what needed to be done. I've had good teachers: my father, Fergus, my mother, Brother Aldous, Ser Aedan, Ser Gilmore…" Evelyn momentarily choked up on mentioning her old lover's name, a reaction that did not go unnoticed by the ex-templar walking beside her. "They taught me an awful lot." _Not to mention Apeiria and all my dream-time friends and acquaintances_. Evelyn didn't say. Approaching the door to the next floor, Evelyn's lips turned up into a half-smile. "Ready?"

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Upward they climbed until they finally reached the top of the tower. Bursting through the door, Evelyn's heart nearly stopped when she spotted the ogre in the center of the tower chewing on a hapless guard. The ogre turned towards the intruders, the look on his face and his bellow betraying, more than anything else, irritation at being interrupted in his meal. Battle was soon engaged and it didn't take long for everything to go wrong. First, the mage attempted to cast a paralysis spell which didn't work. The ogre made quick work of him with a large hunk of tower stone that he hurled, hitting the mage square on the head. Alistair and Izzy then attempted to engage the ogre from the front while Evelyn dodged and weaved, striking with her blades where and when she could. A sweep of the ogre's hand struck Izzy, flinging him to the other side of the tower, stunning the poor mabari.

It was now just Evelyn and Alistair against the ogre. The ex-templar doing his best to keep the ogre's attention on him while Evelyn continued her pinpoint strikes, but the ogre proved quicker than thought as, grabbing Evelyn, he flung her through the air and off the tower with an almost contemptuous grunt. As she fell and the ground grew closer, Evelyn's heart raced as her thoughts turned to her family, Ser Gilmore, Mother Mallol, Brother Aldous, Nan, and all her other friends and companions. Her thoughts then turned to Ser Jory, the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time—murdered because he wanted to return to his wife and unborn child. "No!" Evelyn cried out as a warm, almost electric, feeling filled her body. Looking at her hand, she saw that it was now glowing a warm yellow.

"What?"

"_Fly my child!"_

"I can't fly!"

"_You can! Don't think about it—just do it!"_

As the ground grew closer, Evelyn willed herself out of her dive. Suddenly, to her amazement, she felt herself climbing. "I'm flying…I'm flying…I'm flying…I'm FLYING!" Evelyn screamed out in a mixture of shock, joy, and amazement.

"_It's fun isn't it? Now…don't you have work to do?"_

Quickly ascending back to the roof, the redhead, now glowing with yellow light, saw Alistair lying unconscious, the ogre standing over him slobbering as it prepared to dine on the hapless Warden.

"_Strike!"_

Remembering her dream, Evelyn pointed her hands at the surprised ogre and focusing her mind, was astonished as beams of light launched from her hands, striking and driving the ogre back.

"_Again!"_

Evelyn struck again and again, her hands seemingly pushing the beams of light forward as they weakened the ogre until finally, unable to stand, the monster collapsed to the ground.

"_Concentrate hard and put everything into one final effort!" _The voice encouraged.

Following the voice's instructions, Evelyn put everything she had into one last push. Two brilliant beams of light launched from her hands, coalescing into a single powerful beam which struck the fallen ogre square in the chest. Evelyn gasped in astonishment as the ogre, enveloped in light, disappeared, its atoms scattering to the winds. Drained and exhausted, Evelyn noticed the wood piled for the signal fire. Remembering the reason for her presence on the tower, the exhausted woman slowly lifted and pointed her right arm at the woodpile as she gradually descended to the tower roof. A beam of light shot out from Evelyn's hand, striking the wood and setting it alight as the young woman returned to her normal form just as her feet touched the stone floor of the tower roof. Now completely naked, Evelyn staggered for a few brief moments before collapsing just as a winged figure landed on the roof near her.

Flemeth, in the guise of a giant bird, took in the scene before her. The witch had witnessed the fight between Evelyn and the ogre. As her gaze fell on the redhead, Flemeth muttered in a low voice, "Were it not for your patrons, young one, I would leave you here for the darkspawn. But…" She said as she took both Evelyn and Alistair in her talons, "…I can ill afford to make such powerful enemies now." Turning her attention to the mabari, Flemeth commanded, "I trust you can find your way to your mistress's side without my assistance."

Izzy barked sharply and then turned and walked away as Flemeth took off into the sky with her two prizes. As the loyal mabari made his way down the stairs, he concentrated on only one thing—returning to his mistress's side. She might glow now and fly—but that didn't matter to the brave hound. The only thing that mattered was that she was now safe and he was going to make sure she stayed that way.

Glancing up into the night sky, Flemeth felt a moment of fear before shrugging it off. Her wings beating a steady rhythm, the old witch returned to her hut in the Wilds. She had much to do and plans about to unfold and they all depended on the success of these two Wardens in ending the Blight.

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"_Hello." _Apeiria grinned as Evelyn's astral form appeared beside her.

"_Was that me?"_ Evelyn asked in astonishment.

"_Yes it was." _Apeiria chuckled. _So…what's going through your head?"_

"_You ask me that as if you don't already know."_ Evelyn replied with a smirk.

"_Yes, but I want to hear it from you."_ Apeiria replied with amused laughter.

"_Exhilarated and excited because it was just so wonderful!" _Evelyn exclaimed, _"I flew through the air! I really flew! And did I really do that to the ogre. Shoot beams of light from my hands? But…" _She added with a worried frown, _"Also afraid and troubled."_

"_Afraid and troubled about what?"_ Apeiria queried.

"_I'm afraid of hurting innocent people…or doing something bad like losing control in the middle of Denerim…" _Evelyn said.

"_That would be very bad indeed and those are good fears to have."_ Apeiria responded. _"I'd have been worried if you didn't have those concerns. All I can say is that, if you continue as you have, in time you will learn how to better control your abilities and powers."_

"_But what about now?" _Evelyn asked. _"Can I control when I change or not?"_

"_No." _Apeiria shook her head, _"Not yet. Not completely."_

"_Not completely?"_

"_Correct." _Apeiria nodded her head. _"Very strong emotions increase the likelihood of your powers manifesting. Kind of like a certain green-skinned individual of whom I am aware. Fortunately, you did not come into your powers the same way he did."_

"_So…" _Evelyn concluded, _"All I have to do is keep my emotions in check when I want to keep from glowing and cut loose when I do?"_

"_You make that sound so easy!" _Apeiria laughed, _"But there's more to it than that as I'm sure that you're aware." _Apeiria said slowly, _"You just do not have enough knowledge or control over your powers yet. Best to be careful. And speaking of being careful…" _Apeiria warned, _"Watch yourself around the old woman and her 'daughter'. Both are far more than they appear and both have their own agendas. Now…it's time you awakened, my dear. Remember what I told you and we shall speak again."_

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"Be very careful." Flemeth cautioned as she and Morrigan stood near the bed where Evelyn slept. "Do not underestimate her."

"Why did you save her, mother?" Morrigan inquired. "I can understand rescuing the oaf—we need him for the plan. But why her? She is an uncontrollable variable. Better to have left her to die or be taken by the darkspawn."

"And risk angering those above." Flemeth shook her head, "No. Too risky—even for one such as I."

"You told me that they tend not to interfere in the affairs of mortals." Morrigan countered.

"Generally, that is true. But there are exceptions—and this appears to be one of them." Flemeth replied.

"So…they're shielding her? Why? What sort of plans do they have?" Morrigan inquired.

"No…" Flemeth shook her head, "I don't think they're shielding her—well—not completely. But, the other powers above do have their own agendas. It is generally best not to get in their way where possible and hope that their plans and ours do not collide."

"So…I should attempt to keep her alive?" Morrigan asked.

"Yes." Flemeth nodded her head. "Try to gain her trust, but remember, your main goal is the other Warden. He must be kept alive and you must find some means of temporarily binding him to you. Your part in this plan must succeed if we are to remake Thedas." Seeing their patient stirring, Flemeth commanded, "I must go to the other Warden. See to her and when she is able, bring her out to me. Then prepare yourself. You will have a long journey ahead of you."

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Returning to consciousness, Evelyn found herself naked in bed, with Morrigan standing above her. "Your wounds have been healed." The dark haired witch declared in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Then I guess I have you to thank." Evelyn replied, "Thank you."

"You are welcome, but I am no healer." Morrigan replied, momentarily taken aback by the sincere expression of gratitude shown by the young woman lying in bed. "My mother did most of the healing. I merely assisted.

"Well…thank you anyway." Evelyn replied. "I take it I'm back in the Korcari Wilds? Where is Alistair and Izzy—did they make it?"

"If you are referring to your mabari and the other Warden, yes…" Morrigan nodded her head, "They are both alive and outside. I imagine they will be glad to see you. The dumb one has been especially irritating."

"You must mean Alistair." Evelyn quipped as she felt her strength returning to her.

Laughing in spite of herself, Morrigan replied, "That is correct. The dog seems to know that you are safe. He was sleeping quietly by the door the last I checked.

"He's a good boy." Evelyn declared and then glancing under the sheets, blushed, "You wouldn't happen to have any extra clothes lying around, would you?"

"There are some in the chest by your bed." Morrigan replied as she turned to the door. "I will leave now so that you can get dressed. When you are ready, come outside. Mother wishes to speak with you."

"I'll be out soon." Evelyn replied, waiting until Morrigan had left before she began dressing, setting aside the leather armor in the chest in favor of a Chasind top and loin cloth similar to what she usually wore. Belting her daggers to her waist, the young redhead exited into the sunlight where she saw Alistair and Flemeth engaged in discussion. Hearing a familiar whine, Evelyn looked down to see Izzy looking up at her, his head cocked in the manner that indicated that he was concerned about her.

"I'm all right, boy." Evelyn smiled as she petted her dog, ruffling his fur in the process. "You been good? Behaving yourself?"

"Woof!"

"Good boy!" Evelyn praised, "Let's go join the others." Bending down, she then whispered into faithful hound's ear, "And not a word about my new tricks—right?"

"Woof!" Izzy seemed to nod his head in agreement once in agreement as he trotted off behind his mistress.

"Evelyn!" Alistair called out upon recognizing his fellow Grey Warden approach.

"Alistair." Evelyn nodded her head before turning her attention to Flemeth. "I understand we have you to thank for our rescue and lives. Thank you."

"You are most welcome." The old woman replied before getting to the heart of the discussion, "So…what are your plans now?"

"Alistair?" Evelyn replied, turning back to her fellow Warden, "You're the senior Warden. What should we do?"

"I…" The armor-clad ex-templar stammered, "I…don't know."

Sighing in exasperation, Evelyn instinctively took command as she turned her attention back to Flemeth. "The best option would be to find the nearest Warden outpost and report to them. Let someone senior take charge."

"Normally, a wise course of action." The old woman nodded her head, "But do you have the time to do that? The darkspawn are on the move."

"Besides…" Alistair interjected, "The nearest Warden outpost is thousands of miles away."

"Thousands of miles?" Evelyn shook her head in disbelief. "I doubt that. Surely there are Wardens in both Orlais and the Free Marches. You mean they wouldn't come to our aid? Although…" She added thoughtfully, "Orlesian Wardens might create problems and there might not be enough Wardens in the Free Marches to tip the scales."

"Not to mention…" Alistair angrily spat out, "Teyrn Loghain quit the field! He left the king, Duncan, and the other Wardens there to die!"

"What?!" A shocked Evelyn cried out. "That can't be right!"

"Unfortunately, it is true." Flemeth replied. "My daughter saw everything." The old woman then called out, "Morrigan! Come here and tell the Wardens your tale."

Joining the conversation, the dark-haired apostate related what she had seen of the battle. "I saw the king order a foolish charge into the heart of the darkspawn. Then I saw your signal fire. It was then that your Teyrn Loghain turned his men about. They quit the field leaving the others to die. If you ask me, a wise move on his part. He saved many men who would have died otherwise had he followed your king's foolish plan."

"You cold-hearted…" Alistair sputtered only to be shushed by a gesture from his fellow Warden.

"Granted, the king's attack does sound foolish, but Loghain still could have intervened to cover a withdrawal. Why didn't he do that? Is he making a play for the throne?" Evelyn speculated, "If so, doing so in the middle of a Blight is not the smartest of moves."

"Maybe he saw and opportunity and took it." Flemeth replied, "Maybe he does not believe the Blight is real. Maybe he's as foolish as your king?"

"Or maybe all three." Evelyn answered back, bringing forth a laugh from the old witch.

"That is probably the correct answer, young woman."

"Right." Evelyn took a breath and exhaled. "That means we're probably looking at a civil war because not all of the bannorn is going to go along with Loghain assuming power like this. Help from Orlais is probably out as well—at least until the matter of the succession is settled. Right now, any Orlesian presence, even Wardens, will be seen as a threat by everyone."

"Right." Alistair nodded his head, adding thoughtfully, "And as you pointed out earlier, there aren't enough Wardens in the Marches to make a difference."

"So…what does that leave us as far as the Grey Wardens are concerned, Alistair?" Evelyn asked.

"Weisshaupt is too far away." Alistair shook his head. "For now, at least, we appear to be on our own."

"Not alone, young man." Flemeth responded, "You do have other resources at your command."

"That's right!" Alistair jubilantly exclaimed, "The treaties. These treaties were made with the Circles of Magi, the Templars, the Dalish, and the dwarves obligating them to come to our assistance during a Blight. Plus…" He added, "We can go to Arl Eamon at Redcliffe. I know the Arl. He's a good man—he'll help us! I'm sure of it!"

"I hate to throw cold water…" Evelyn frowned, "But…those treaties were drawn up hundreds of years ago. Right now, they're just words on paper. We're going to have to convince them to honor those treaties and that will probably mean doing favors."

"That's the way it has always been, child." Flemeth smirked.

"Also…there's no guarantee Eamon will join us." Evelyn pointed out. "He could well have decided to throw in his lot with Loghain."

"Never! The arl is a good man!" Alistair rebuked. "He is honorable and loyal to Cailan and the Theirin line. He will not allow Loghain to get away with this treachery! I just know it."

"Maybe…maybe not." Evelyn shot back. "We'll have to see when the time comes." Pausing for a moment, Evelyn continued, "Before doing anything though, we need to find out what's going on. It's been several days since the battle. A lot could have happened while we've been resting and recuperating here."

"I would suggest the village of Lothering as being a good place to begin your journey." Morrigan opined. "It is close…has an inn and Chantry…and sits on a crossroads so merchants are frequently in town or passing through."

"Good advice." Evelyn nodded her head, "Thank you, Morrigan."

"So…it's on to Lothering?" Alistair asked.

"Looks like." Evelyn responded, taking the leadership role abdicated by her senior Warden companion.

"There is one more thing I can do for you." Flemeth declared. "Take Morrigan. She'll be helpful on your journey."

"Mother!" Morrigan protested just as she was instructed to earlier by her mother. "Must I?"

"You've always wanted to see the world…" Flemeth countered as the two women carried out their well-rehearsed dialogue.

"Very well, Mother." Morrigan replied, feigning capitulation. Turning her gaze to the Wardens, she requested, "Let me get my things.

Moments later, the dark haired apostate returned with a bundle slung over her shoulder. "I am ready."

"Let's be off, then." Evelyn ordered, brushing off Alistair's objections over the presence of an apostate mage. "We're not in any position to turn down help, Alistair." Turning to Izzy, Evelyn called out, "You ready, boy?" Laughing at Izzy's barking response, Evelyn ordered, "All right, then, let's get going! We've got a long walk ahead of us and probably darkspawn on the way."

_Well…we see Evelyn in action for the first time. I'm still getting a handle on her powers—as is she. It'll be interesting seeing her try to keep them under wraps…I have a feeling she's not going to be able to do that forever…As for the appearance of Marvel heroes…don't worry, they're a' comin'—more or less…_


	5. Chapter 5

Infinity's Child

Chapter 5

Evelyn was right. She and her little party did confront isolated groups of darkspawn prowling the roads, isolated farmsteads, and meadows between the Korcari Wilds and Lothering. However, darkspawn weren't the only threats. Bandits were also about preying on the weak and helpless refugees fleeing the darkspawn and their taint.

"Bandits this close to Lothering…" Alistair shook his head as the surviving bandits fled into the hills. "Where is Bann Ceorlic?"

"Assuming he's not in some darkspawn's belly?" Morrigan inquired with her acid tongue. "Probably in Denerim where it's safe."

"Ceorlic was never one to put his people before his own well-being. He's probably in Denerim at the Gnawed Noble." Evelyn huffed she caught a whiff of the lamb stew in a pot left behind by the bandits.

"Tempted?" Alistair teased, pointing at the pot.

"Andraste's tits, yes! After several days of your cooking I'm ready to eat dried leather." Evelyn responded as she ladled a portion of the contents into a bowl and offered it to her mabari. "Is it safe to eat, Izzy?"

The dog walked up to the bowl and sniffed cautiously before taking a tentative bite. Satisfied that it was good, the dog hungrily ate the stew. Ladling out the contents of the stew into four bowls, Evelyn announced, "Well…it passes the mabari test, so it must be good. Dig in…beat's Alistair's mystery meat stew."

"Hey!" Alistair protested only to be silenced by Evelyn shoving a bowl into his hands.

"Shut up and eat, Alistair." She commanded with a smile on her lips.

"Yes, Ma'am." The ex-templar meekly replied as he dug in hungrily into his meal.

Taking a bite of her own stew, Evelyn relished the taste of cooked lamb, spices and vegetables. "You know…" She quipped, "We should have made a deal with the bandits. Swapped Alistair for their cook!"

"Hey!"

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After being warned by a templar that Lothering was a lost cause, Evelyn and her little group first made their way towards the Chantry.

"Well…would you look at that! The Chanter's Board is still up!" A surprised Alistair remarked.

"It never ceases to amaze me how…" Morrigan sniffed disdainfully, "…people will insist on filling their lives with trivialities even as their world is falling apart."

"Did you ever consider the possibility that it's because they need those little things to keep themselves going, Morrigan?" Evelyn interjected. "Concentrating on getting someone to fix the roof or make traps for vermin helps them to keep their sanity."

"Tis foolish." The witch shook her head, "They should be fleeing."

"On that…" Evelyn sighed as they reached the door to the Chantry, "…we agree."

As they entered the Chantry, Evelyn heard Morrigan's derisive snort. "We all need something to believe in." The young redhead said, "Many find comfort in Andraste and the Chant of Light. Is that such a bad thing?"

"It's silly superstition." Morrigan primly responded, "Nothing more."

"Perhaps." Evelyn shrugged her shoulders, "Perhaps not. Still their belief is providing these people with a sense of comfort and strength—two items they're drastically in need of at the moment." Turning to Alistair, Evelyn asked as they all made their way towards the center of the Chantry where a senior templar stood giving orders, "What about you, Alistair? You were in training to be a templar…are you a believer?"

"I believe in the Maker and Andraste, of course." Alistair responded, "But I was never as…committed…as the brothers at the monastery or my fellow templars. Maybe that's the reason why I was never comfortable being a templar."

"Probably." Evelyn replied, then approaching the templar commander, the young redhead smiled. "Greetings, my name is Evelyn. I thought I should inform you about those bandits on the highway…"

"Maker's breath!" The templar sighed, "Not again!"

"Oh…I don't think they're going to be a problem anymore." Evelyn smirked, "Last I saw of them was assholes and elbows as they were running away."

"She speaks truth Ser Bryant." A templar reported, confirming Evelyn's account. "We saw the bandits take flight."

"Then, thank you my lady." Ser Bryant smiled. "We don't have much…" He said as he produced a pouch of coins, "But please accept this with my thanks."

"Your thanks are payment enough…" Evelyn smiled as she pushed the coin purse back into Ser Bryant's hands. "The people here have far greater need of this than I do." She said, eliciting a warm smile of approval from Alistair and a snort of derision from Morrigan.

"My thanks again to you, my lady." Ser Bryant responded with a bow. "The Reverend Mother is in the rectory if you would care to pay your respects."

"Thank you, Ser Bryant." Evelyn smiled back, "We shall do just that."

As the group made their way towards the rectory, Alistair blurted out on seeing a familiar face. "I know that knight! That's Ser Donal! A knight in the service of Arl Eamon. I'd like to see him…maybe he knows what's going on."

With a nod of her head, Evelyn granted her approval. "Sounds like a good idea."

"Ser Donal!" Alistair called out, immediately drawing the attention of the knight who was currently reading a book.

Looking up, the knight immediately recognized the person who called out to him. "Alistair? Is that really you? I had thought all the Grey Wardens slain at Ostagar."

"Not all of us." Alistair replied with a grimace. "What do you know about what happened?"

"Not much." The knight confessed. "I've been on this fruitless quest ordered by the arlessa since before Ostagar."

"Quest?" Alistair inquired.

"For the Sacred Ashes of Andraste." Ser Donal replied. "You mean you haven't heard?"

"Like you…" Evelyn interjected, "We've been out of communication since Ostagar. What are these ashes and why has the arlessa sent you after them?"

"The Urn of Sacred Ashes in an old legend." Ser Donal replied. "The Urn is supposed to contain the ashes of Andraste herself."

"According to the legend…" Alistair interjected, "They are supposed to possess remarkable healing powers. They can't bring someone back from the dead, of course…" Alistair declared as the knight nodded his head in agreement, "But they can bring a person back from death's door."

"Is there any truth to this legend?" Evelyn asked.

"I have found no solid evidence one way or the other." Ser Donal replied, "My traveling companion, Ser Henric…"

"Did you say Ser Henric?" Alistair interrupted as he turned to the woman standing next to him. "Evelyn? Didn't we retrieve an amulet from…"

"Yes." Evelyn nodded her head as she produced a bronze locket from her satchel. Turning back to Ser Donal, the young Warden declared in a somber tone, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Ser Donal. But we found this in the possession of some bandits that we had killed and rousted out. Do you recognize it."

The young knight exhaled. "Yes." He replied grimly, "That belonged to Ser Henric. Accepting the amulet from Evelyn, Ser Donal opened it, producing a small note. "Just as I thought." The knight announced as he handed the note to Alistair. "Ser Henric had gone to Denerim to speak with Brother Genitivi, a noted scholar who was interested in the Ashes…"

"Yes…" Evelyn nodded her head as she read the note after Alistair had handed it to her. "I have read some of the brother's works. Brother Aldous, my tutor, was quite fond of his books. Unfortunately, the note doesn't give us much to go on. But…back to what we were talking about earlier, is there a reason why the arlessa has sent all of the arl's knights on what amounts to a wild goose chase?"

"Arl Eamon has been poisoned." Ser Donal announced. "By a blood mage."

"Probably employed by Loghain." Alistair spat out.

"What?" A surprised Ser Donal exclaimed.

"We don't know that yet." Evelyn cautioned, placing a gentle, yet firm, hand on Alistair's forearm. "So let's not jump to conclusions."

"Why would Teyrn Loghain want to poison Arl Eamon?" Ser Donal inquired.

"Loghain deserted the king at Ostagar." Alistair growled.

"We don't know for sure what's going on here yet." Evelyn again admonished, "That's one of the reasons why we're here—to find out what news there is. We're not doing anyone any good if we jump without rhyme or reason."

"Finally!" Morrigan sniped, "A voice of reason."

"I have heard little of what has happened since Ostagar." Ser Donal confessed. "But if Teyrn Loghain has usurped the regency, rest assured that Arl Eamon will set him straight at the Landsmeet."

"Like I said…" Evelyn declared to everyone, "Let's figure out what's going on first. Then, we can make plans."

"If you're looking for current news…" Ser Donal helpfully announced, "You might want to go to Dane's Refuge after speaking with the Reverend Mother. Merchants and travelers tend to stop off there to rest, eat, and drink before moving on. As for myself…I am heading back to Redcliffe. I have stayed here far too long for what little good I have accomplished."

As the knight departed, Evelyn let out a deep breath. "Let's hear what the Reverend Mother has to say and then I say we adjourn to the inn. I don't know about the rest of you, but I could stand for a drink right about now."

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As the little group exited the Chantry, Morrigan sneered, "Thirty silver! You gave that old hag thirty silver!"

"It's called buying good will, Morrigan." Evelyn jabbed back.

"Bribing would be a better word." Morrigan snorted.

"The Reverend Mother is not corrupt!" Alistair objected, his voice and words attracting unwanted attention from onlookers.

"Of course she isn't Alistair and I'll challenge anyone who says otherwise!" Evelyn quickly responded, silencing both Morrigan and Alistair with a glare. Seeing that the onlookers appeared pleased at her words, Evelyn relaxed as she lowered her voice to a whisper, "A little softer please, Alistair. I don't think they heard you in Val Royeaux."

"I'm sorry." Alistair apologized, "But I'm not going to stand here and let her…" He glared at Morrigan, "…insult the Reverend Mother like that."

"I was just making an observation you simple-minded fool." Morrigan snapped back, also lowering her voice. "Power and position can corrupt anyone—you should know that better than anyone."

"Perhaps she's corrupt…perhaps not." Evelyn's lips turned up in a sly grin, "That's why I stopped off and spoke to Ser Bryant. I whispered in his ear that I'd just donated some money to the Reverend Mother to care for the refugees and asked him to assist her in distributing the funds."

"Ser Bryant seems to be a good man." Alistair nodded his head, "If there is a problem—which I doubt—he'll see to it that the funds go to those who need them."

"So…where now? Morrigan asked as the tiny group left the Chantry, ignoring the loud Chasind screaming nearby.

"Dane's Refuge." Evelyn answered, cringing as the madman ranted. "Excuse me for a moment…" The young redhead sighed, "I'm going to have to deal with this or we're never going to have any peace." Moments later, the Warden returned with a big smile on her face. "All quiet now." She smirked as she and her friends approached an elven family sobbing.

"Can you help us?" The man pleaded, "Bandits on the highway took everything we owned, including my daughter's pet lamb."

Remembering the delicious lamb stew that she and the others had only just recently eaten, Evelyn blushed an embarrassed crimson. Quickly dipping into her meagre purse, the young woman pulled out a few silver coins. "Here, I'm afraid we don't have much more. As for the bandits…for what it's worth, we've driven them off."

"Thank you." The wife's lips turned up in a grateful smile. "You are a most generous woman." She said as the family departed.

"Yes, most generous." Morrigan laughed as the elves moved out of earshot. "Now let us be off, I must find a privy so that I can bid a proper farewell to a certain lamb that was delicious entering my stomach, but now feels the need to depart."

"You are one sick woman." Alistair grumbled as the group approached the bridge where once again Morrigan complained when Evelyn opened her coin purse, this time to give a couple of silvers to a boy who had apparently been orphaned.

"Are we to be a traveling charity?" The dark haired witch remarked sarcastically.

"We can always get more coin." Evelyn huffed, "But that silver will buy that kid at least one decent meal. I think it was worth it."

"I quite agree." Alistair chimed in as the group reached the door to the inn where they heard two gossips near the doorway discussing a possible demon outbreak at the Mage's Circle.

"That doesn't sound good." Alistair remarked as the three humans and one mabari listened in to the men's conversation.

"No it doesn't." Evelyn concurred as she heard a snort of derision from the woman standing to her left. "Something to add to the conversation, Morrigan?" Evelyn asked sweetly.

"I say that the mages had it coming to them." The apostate witch snorted. "Let them wallow in their self-imposed prison."

"We need them to fight the darkspawn though." Evelyn countered with a sigh.

"I think we still need to go to Redcliffe first." Alistair insisted. "We need the arl's support and Redcliffe is on the way to the Circle. We'd have to at least stop off there anyway."

"Good point." Evelyn conceded. "We'll discuss the matter further over drinks." Entering the inn, the tiny group was assailed by a cacophony of sounds and conversation until the scraping of chairs on the floor killed all noise."

"Look at what we have here, boys!" One of the men called out.

"She fits the description given to us." Another soldier declared.

"Who the Void are you and why should I give a damn." Evelyn responded in a voice that was both sarcastic and challenging.

"We are soldiers of Teyrn Loghain." The man in the center declared, "And you are wanted for treason against the king."

A red-headed Chantry sister quickly attempted to interpose herself between the men and Evelyn only to be roughly dismissed by the leader of the soldiers. "Kill the traitor and anyone else who resists." The officer ordered as his men drew their weapons and notched their bows.

"Sorry…" Evelyn commented apologetically to the Sister as she tossed an acid flask into the midst of the soldiers and rolled away as the officer swung is great sword. "Looks like they don't want to talk about it."

"I can see that." The Sister replied in a faint Orlesian accent as she drew her own dagger, skillfully placing the point in between two joints in the armor of her antagonist.

"You guys can pitch in whenever you want! Try not to kill them though." Evelyn called out to her party as Alistair easily knocked one of his foes to the ground with a bash from his shield while Izzy leaped on one of the archers and Morrigan cast a spell that quickly froze the other archer.

"Why do you want to keep them alive?" Morrigan asked as she stunned the soldiers attacking her as well as several of the bystanders attempting to clear out of the way. "Seems an unnecessary kindness."

Moving nimbly from one opponent to the other, Evelyn struck true with her daggers, making sure to injure and incapacitate, but not kill. "I want prisoners to interrogate." Evelyn responded. "That, and I have no intention of letting people think that there's any truth to Loghain's lies. We start killing willy-nilly and that's exactly what they're going to think."

Nodding her head at Evelyn's words, the Chantry sister struck her opponent a blow that quickly rendered him unconscious just as Evelyn nicked the officer commanding the soldiers with her blade that had been coated with a sedative. As the officer slumped to the ground, the other soldiers soon lost their will to fight.

"Strip them of their armor and weapons and restrain them." Evelyn ordered, "And then let's wake up the commander. I have some questions for him." After the prisoners had been tied up and lined up against the rear wall of the inn, Evelyn picked up a pitcher of water from the innkeeper. Walking towards the commander of the soldiers, who sat unconscious, head bowed, against the wall, Evelyn took the officer by his hair, lifting his head with one hand while emptying the contents of the pitcher into his face with the other. "Wakey wakey!" She called out in a sing-song voice as the officer sputtered, regaining consciousness. "I've got some questions for you."

"I will not betray my king and country—unlike you Wardens." The officer sneered as he spat in Evelyn's face.

Fighting down the desire to give the officer a quick demonstration of her new-found powers, Evelyn wiped the spittle off her face. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood." The young redhead declared. "All I want to know is what happened during and after the battle and why do you think the Wardens were responsible for Cailan's death? In case it's missed your notice, the Wardens all died too—kind of silly to plot against the king if you don't have a way out, isn't it?"

"They got caught in their own web." The officer bit back.

"Were you at the battle?" Evelyn inquired, "I don't remember your face and I got a pretty good look at most of Loghain's officers. I remember Ser Cautherin and the others, but I don't recall seeing you…"

"I…wasn't there." The officer confessed. "I and my men were sent here after the king…"

"King?" Evelyn interrupted, "The king is dead. Did the Landsmeet crown a new king while I was away? I wasn't aware Cailan had any heirs."

"Loghain." The officer angrily replied. "Loghain is our king!"

"So…" Evelyn continued, choosing her words carefully, mindful of her growing audience, "You're saying that Loghain has usurped Queen Anora and the throne and is now reigning as king?"

Seeing too late the trap he had fallen into, the Loghain loyalist sputtered, "No! The Queen is his daughter…"

"And Cailan's wife. Are you saying that she's a child, incompetent, or incapable of ruling in her own right?" Evelyn inquired.

"No!" The officer angrily denied, "But King Loghain…"

Cutting the man off, Evelyn declared, raising her voice, "You do understand that if Loghain is claiming either the title of king or regent without approval of the Landsmeet then that claim is illegitimate, don't you? That without consent of the bannorn, he is ruling as a tyrant?" Seeing that she had made her point not just to the soldiers, but, more importantly, to the people in the inn, Evelyn finished, "I'm going to let you and your men go now—without your weapons or armor. Report back to Loghain. Tell him I know that he has usurped the throne and is now a tyrant and that I will avenge my family and all those he has hurt. You tell him that. Got it?"

"Yes." The officer sullenly replied.

"Alistair?" Evelyn called out. "Free these…whatevers…and let them go back to their master."

"Right, Evelyn." A pleased Alistair responded as Evelyn turned her attention to the red headed Chantry sister.

"Sister?" Evelyn called out, "In all the confusion, I don't believe I caught your name."

"Leliana." The redheaded Chantry sister replied.

"Well, Leliana…" Evelyn smiled, "Thank you for your assistance."

"I couldn't let these men kill you…" Leliana began only to be politely cut off by the female Warden.

"I don't think there was any real danger of that." Evelyn smirked, "But, thank you anyway." As she subtly observed the stance and how the Sister was carrying herself, Evelyn immediately recognized that there was far more to Leliana than what first appearances might indicate. "So…what brings you to the inn? I'd have thought you'd be at the Chantry or with Elder Miriam helping with the refugees. The poor woman seems to have more than she can handle."

"I just came from the Elder." Leliana replied with a smile. "I came in here for a quick bite to eat before running an errand for her." Leliana explained, "She needs herbs to make poultices."

"I know the type she needs." Morrigan interjected, "Mostly elfroot…although deep mushrooms can also be used."

"Right." Leliana nodded her head. "The herbs grow wild outside the village—although there is a nest of bandits near where they grow. The Chanter's Board has a bounty out on them. I didn't want to go out alone…"

"I think we can arrange to help you out…" Evelyn smiled.

"Thank you." Leliana smiled back, "Of course I will share the bounty and any loot recovered from the bandits."

"Sounds fair. We could use the coin." Evelyn replied as both Alistair and Morrigan nodded their heads. "You have a dagger, but how are you set for armor?"

"I have some armor back at the Chantry." Leliana replied.

"Excellent!" Evelyn exclaimed, "We can pick it up on the way."

As the tiny group with their newest recruit began to make their way out of the inn, a loud voice called out to them "Hey! Who's going to pay for all the damages here?"

"The teyrn, of course." Evelyn shouted back, "His men started it. Just send him the bill."

"So…what made you decide to help us?" Evelyn inquired, gently interrogating the new party member as the group approached the tiny bridge dividing the village. "You could have just sat quietly and they would never have molested you."

"As I said earlier…" Leliana replied, "I couldn't just sit and let them kill you."

"I see…" Evelyn drawled, "Is that the only reason?"

Pausing for a moment, Leliana lowered her voice, "I also heard that you are Grey Wardens. Grey Wardens fight the Blight—do they not? I would like to join you."

Chuckling, Evelyn replied, "You do realize that you might be signing on to a forlorn hope, don't you?" Seeing the look of confusion on the Sister's face, the redheaded Warden explained, "Alistair and I…" Laughing as Izzy barked in protest, Evelyn amended, "…and…of course…Izzy…are probably the only Grey Wardens still alive in Ferelden and it's a good bet we won't be alive long if Teyrn Loghain or Arl Howe have anything to say about it. So…why do you want to sign on to what is most likely a suicide mission?"

Leliana hesitated for several moments before reluctantly answering, "I…had a vision…"

"A vision!" Alistair exclaimed, "And here I thought we were all full up of crazies!"

"I did!" Leliana protested.

No stranger to dreams and visions, Evelyn responded in a kindly voice, "Go on…I'm listening."

"The Maker told me to join you."

Laughing out loud, Morrigan sniped, "It appears you took a blow on the head."

"He did!" Leliana persisted. "I was in the Chantry garden and saw a dead rose bush. It was gnarled and twisted—nothing could grow there. But I looked and saw it. A single rose growing on the dead branch. Don't you see?" The Chantry sister sobbed, "The Maker was telling me that even amongst all this death and destruction there could be life!"

"And this convinced you to join me?" Evelyn asked.

"Yes." Leliana nodded her head, "The Maker is everywhere and in everything. The trees…the animals…the sky…the fields…us. He loves us and wants us to love him."

"I see…" Evelyn paused for a moment as she considered her options. Part of her was tempted to turn the young lay sister away—that Alistair and Morrigan were right—that she was crazy. But then…Evelyn chuckled to herself, _Who am I to judge this woman because she saw the Maker in a rose. Maybe…in fact…she did. I know I saw what I saw in my dreams and know what I did at Ostagar. Maybe this is one of those choices Apeiria warned me about._ Coming to a decision, Evelyn declared, "All right, Leliana, you're with us. I hope you don't come to regret your choice." Seeing the dubious looks on both Morrigan's and Alistair's faces, the young Warden announced, "I've made up my mind. Now, let's get Leliana equipped and get moving."

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After getting Leliana kitted out, the group set out, only to encounter a large qunari caged at the village entrance. "Maker's breath!" Evelyn swore, "What did that poor sap do to deserve being caged like that?"

"He confessed to murdering an entire family—including the children." Leliana replied, "The Reverend Mother sentenced him to the cage."

"Typical." Morrigan sneered, "She didn't want to have blood on her precious Chantry hands so she ordered him in that cage without food or water until the darkspawn come for him. And you say the Chasind are the barbarians!"

"Gotta agree with Morrigan here." Evelyn swore as Alistair made to object. "The Reverend Mother might have said she was being merciful and might even believe that, but this isn't justice." She shook her head, "It's not even vengeance. It's cruelty. Better to have simply cut off his head or hung him and been done with it than this." Looking up at the qunari prisoner, Evelyn asked, "Are the charges true? Did you murder that family?"

"It is as they say." The qunari replied. "I am guilty and will atone for my failures when the darkspawn come."

Shaking her head, Leliana pleaded in a soft voice, "Surely there must be another way for you to atone for your actions?"

"What would you suggest as an adequate atonement?" The qunari inquired.

"Your severed head would start." Alistair grumbled only to be hushed by Evelyn.

"We could use more muscle." Morrigan suggested to Evelyn. "Right now all we have is your dog and pea-brain. At least, he looks like he could wield a sword."

"Is that true?" Evelyn inquired of the prisoner.

"It is so.' The qunari replied.

"There's still the problem of getting your release. I can't see the Reverend Mother just letting you go." Evelyn mused as she heard the sound of a throat being cleared.

"I think I might have a solution." Leliana announced. Turning to Evelyn, she said, "The Reverend Mother trusts me. Maybe I can get her to release the qunari into your custody. You said this was a suicide mission…no?" She inquired with just a hint of a twinkle in her eyes.

"I did indeed." Evelyn snorted. "All right…See if you can sweet-talk the Reverend Mother into releasing him." Turning to the qunari, Evelyn quipped. "We'll see about busting you out of there, Big Man. You just sit…or stand…tight 'til then."

"It seems I have little choice." The qunari grumbled as Evelyn laughed.

"As for the rest of us…" The female Warden commanded, "We'll go ahead and see about knocking out those bandits. We meet back here…" She then looked up at the sun, "…in an hour."

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Returning to the qunari's cage, Evelyn smiled as she saw Leliana approach, waving a key in her hand. "I see you got the Reverend Mother to release the qunari!" The young Warden exclaimed.

"It wasn't easy." Leliana replied, "But yes. She agreed to release him in your custody when I told her that this was most likely a suicide mission."

Turning back to the prisoner, Evelyn cautioned, "Did you hear that? There's a good chance that you're not going to come out of this alive. Still…better to take your chances with us than wait for the darkspawn in that cage."

"I agree." The prisoner replied as Evelyn unlocked the door. "It is done." The qunari simply stated as he stepped out.

"Do you have a name?" Evelyn inquired, "Or do I call you Qunari?"

"I am Sten of the Beresad." The qunari replied in a flat voice devoid of emotion.

"All right, I'll just call you Sten then." The young Warden smirked, "I am Evelyn. The other redhead here is Leliana, the dark haired woman wearing almost as less clothing than me is Morrigan, the man wearing the armor is Alistair—he's also a Warden as is my baby over there—Izzy."

"Woof!" Izzy barked, wagging his stubby tail as he greeted the newest member of his mistress's group.

"Now that introductions are out of the way…" Evelyn commanded, "Let's see about getting you kitted out, Sten. We still have some of the armor worn by the bandits that we killed. We'll have to make some alterations here and there, but I think we can get you set up properly." Appraising the big qunari, she remarked, "I get the impression you're a two-handed weapon man, am I right." Taking Sten's single nod of the head as confirmation, Evelyn commented, "I think we have a sword that'll work for you for now. It's Chasind made. Good balance. We still have a few loose ends to tie up here and then we're off." Addressing the entire group, Evelyn announced, "If you've got anything you need to buy, beg, or…borrow…in town, better do it now. I want to get going as soon as possible."

As the group approached the outskirts of the village, Evelyn spied a gathering of men nervously clutching an assortment of weapons—mostly clubs with a few maces and daggers—in their hands. Motioning for her party to halt just out of sight and earshot of the mob, Evelyn turned to her group. "Looks like possible trouble ahead."

"Vermin." Sten growled in a low voice.

"Most of them are refugees." Leliana pointed out. "They're hungry and scared."

"And they probably found out there's a bounty on me and Alistair." Evelyn agreed.

"That bounty must be a pretty good one for them to risk taking us on—as heavily armed and armored as we are and with Morrigan being a mage." Alistair remarked, shaking his head.

Turning to Leliana, Evelyn asked, "Do you know a way around them without us being spotted?"

"Yes." The former Chantry sister nodded her head, "There's a trail that skirts around the village and leads directly to the Imperial Highway. We'll be able to avoid them completely."

"Let's do that then." Evelyn quickly decided. "I'd rather not leave some wife, daughter, son, or parent missing their loved one if we don't have to."

"Agreed." Alistair nodded his head as Leliana took the lead.

"This way." The redhead whispered as she directed the party to crouch low, "Follow me."

The group reached the highway safely, without having to encounter the mob of desperate refugees, only to happen upon a party of darkspawn threatening a dwarf merchant and his son. Upon defeating the darkspawn, Evelyn spoke to the merchant, Bodhain Fedic, and his son, Sandal. At first reluctant to join the Warden and her party, the dwarf merchant soon found himself in her camp, asking if he and his son could tag along.

"I have a large variety of goods and can offer you a sizable discount." The merchant tempted, sweetening the pot by adding, "And my boy can enchant any weapon or armor. He's quite talented."

"Any piece of weapon or armor?" Evelyn inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yes!" Bodhain replied, his voice filled with the confidence of an expert huckster. "One of your tranquils examined him once. Called him a…savant…I think that's the term he used." As Sandal scratched his rear, Bodhain declared, "Most likely he's lyrium addled—to much exposure to that stuff can do that to a body—even a dwarf." The merchant sighed, "I found him wandering alone in the Deep Roads years ago. He was probably abandoned down there…poor thing." Shaking his head, the dwarf explained, "It's a story repeated all too often, I'm afraid. Sometimes it's because the child was born casteless and so the father or mother—whoever is not casteless—rather than deal with the shame and potential loss of caste that comes with acknowledging the child, will abandon the child to its fate. At other times, it's because the child is the product of a mixed relationship—one of the parents was human or elf." Shaking his head, Bodhain confessed, "Usually, the wee one left down there dies quickly—devoured by deepstalkers or other predators. But…sometimes…rarely…the child survives for whatever reason—there's so much about the Deep Roads that we don't know—maybe there are lost colonies…maybe they just got lucky—if you can call what usually happens to the survivors lucky." Shaking his head, Bodhain sighed, "I don't know. All I know is that I happened upon Sandal and took him in and he's been with me ever since."

"And so you adopted him." Evelyn smiled as she turned to Sandal, "Sandal? We have something in common. I'm adopted too, you know."

Sandal looked up at Evelyn and smiled broadly, "Enchantment!"

_Maybe a bit of an abrupt ending, but I think letting Sandal have the last word was appropriate here. Next part, Evelyn meets a Marvel Universe hero in the astral plane (Hint…hint…) when she has her campfire dream…_


	6. Chapter 6

Infinity's Child

Part 6

"Better get some rest everyone." Evelyn said to the group gathered around the campfire. "We've got a long day tomorrow."

"So…where are we going?" Alistair inquired as he finished his bowl of stew.

"Redcliffe." Evelyn let out a breath of air.

"Why?" Sten demanded, adding in a low, forceful tone, "How does this help in combatting the Blight."

Shaking her head, Evelyn replied, "First, no one has conquered Ferelden without first controlling Redcliffe. It is probably the most important piece of real estate in this kingdom next to Denerim itself. See.." She said as she drew a rough map of Ferelden on the ground, "If you control Redcliffe, You control access to Lake Calenhad and, by extension, the Mage's Circle, and also control an important road junction giving you access to the Frostback Mountains. Control of Redcliffe gives you control over the entirety of western Ferelden."

"I see…" Sten nodded his head approvingly, "From here you can block access to Denerim from the west and be able to intercept movements from the south. The hills and mountains provide good defensive ground. Very logical. I am surprised. You are not as callow as I had at first thought."

"Well…thanks." Evelyn responded, "I think."

"You're welcome."

"Well…" Alistair said as he struggled to his feet, "Now that we got that out of the way, let's get some shut-eye. As our leader has said, we have a long day tomorrow."

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Slipping off into the dream realm, Evelyn heard it calling out to her. A siren song, the young redhead's astral form found herself irresistibly drawn towards the source of the sound. As she drew closer to a giant chasm, she heard a loud roar and once again came face-to-face with her enemy, the Archdemon. Instinctively transforming to her powered form, Evelyn felt herself surrounded by the gentle golden warmth as she felt the power charging in her hands.

"Fool!" The Archdemon bellowed, "This is the Fade. Your powers cannot kill me here."

"We'll see about that!" Evelyn spat out as she sent a beam of golden light in the direction of the dragon who countered by breathing purple flames. The two forces collided, each trying to push the other as their owners struggled for dominance.

"You're weakening!" The Archdemon cried out in triumph as he renewed his assault, the purple flames drawing ever closer to the woman opposing him. "If you die here…you die in the real world."

"Then we'll have to see that that doesn't happen, demon!" A voice, this one male, rang out. Evelyn then heard what sounded like an incantation, "Let the crimson bands of Cytorrak surge forth, seeking the one who is near."

Evelyn saw ruby rings encircle the dragon, imprisoning it. Its flames smothered, Evelyn readied herself to launch another attack when she heard the voice again, a voice resounding in both wisdom and authority, now addressing her, "Stop! Don't go any further!"

"Who? What?" Evelyn exclaimed, her astral form turning in the direction the hail came from. Flying towards her was a man dressed in what were apparently blue mage's robes and a red cape. "Why not?"

"The rings of Cytorrak will not hold this demon for long." The man replied as he landed smoothly in front of Evelyn. "This is his domain—where he is at his most powerful and I am unfamiliar with him. Come with me, I know a place of refuge and safety."

Seeing that the ruby rings were already starting to lose their color as the archdemon struggled against his bonds, Evelyn nodded her head. "All right, lead on."

"This way." The man directed as he once again took to flight.

Joining him, Evelyn, still feeling very uncertain, remarked as the pair apparently flew through the astral plane. "I'm kind of new to all this—especially the changing and flying and shooting beams of light from my hands."

"I got that impression." The man chuckled. "Let's get somewhere safe and then we can talk. Just follow my lead and everything will be ok."

"Ok?" Evelyn exclaimed in a confused voice.

Laughing, the man responded, "Ok…means a lot of different things depending on how you use it." The man further explained, "It can mean that you're feeling fine as in, 'I'm ok.', or it can mean 'do you agree?' or 'I agree' as in 'I'm ok with us doing that', or 'Are you ok with this plan?'. It can also be used as an exclamation of triumph like, 'Ok! We beat the bad guys!' Understand?"

"A little." Evelyn smiled, "Ok…let's get somewhere safe."

Laughing, the man responded, "I'm ok with that."

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Evelyn's eyes lit up in anticipation as she saw that she was entering that same dimension with the tall buildings and horseless carts. Flying through the ether, the pair approached what seemed to be a dignified old mansion. The young redhead gasped in astonishment as the pair flew through an upper story window with what appeared to be a pentagram with the star pointed up glazed on the window. Landing the man gestured with his hand, "Welcome to the Sanctum Sanctorum—my home."

Coming to a more clumsy landing, Evelyn apologized, "I'm sorry…I'm still not used to this."

"That's quite all right." The man smiled. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Doctor Stephen Strange. The Sorcerer Supreme for the Earth of this dimension. And you are?"

"I'm…I'm Evelyn. Evelyn Cousland." Evelyn replied and then questioned, "Sorcerer Supreme? Are you a mage?"

"You could say that." The man smiled, "Yes."

"So…this is your Circle." Evelyn concluded, "And where are the templars."

"Templars?" Doctor Strange laughed, "There are several different types and orders of templars depending on what dimension you're in. Tell me about yours."

"Ok." Evelyn responded, using the idiom that she had just learned, "But first…did we really fly THROUGH that window?"

"Kind of." The mage chuckled. "We're still in the astral plane. It would take too much energy to bring your physical form across into this dimension and right now, that might not be such a good idea. The problem is…you can be killed in the astral plane and if that happens, the cord that connects you with your physical body could be severed, killing your physical form as well. However…" He smiled reassuringly, "We're safe here. This building…and this room in particular…has sufficient wards and protections to keep us safe against all but the most powerful of adversaries."

"That's good to know." Evelyn sighed in relief. "So…"

"We were talking about these templars of yours…" The mystic prompted.

"Right." Evelyn nodded her head. "Ok…but I don't know a whole lot. Just what I've learned from Brother Aldous, my parents, and Alistair…"

"Just tell me what you know." Dr. Strange encouraged, "And we can go from there."

"Ok…" Evelyn sighed as she explained everything she knew about the templars.

"Just as I thought." The mage cupped his chin with his right hand as his left supported his right elbow. "There are major differences between your templars and the templars of this dimension."

"How so?" A curious Evelyn inquired.

The Sorcerer Supreme then gave to Evelyn what she considered a fascinating lecture about the order of Knights Templar on this Earth and its suppression and the various groups and individuals claiming the Templar mantle ever since. "So you see…our Knights Templar were nothing similar to your templars. Totally different origins with a totally different purpose. About the only thing they have in common is that they are both orders of monastic knights and soldiers."

"So…magic isn't a force here?" A confused Evelyn queried. "You're a mage and I assume there are others who practice magic."

"There are." The mage nodded his head, "Several in fact. There are also those who have gained their powers and ability through science or technology or because they were born with those abilities."

"What about me?" Evelyn asked. "I'm no mage and I'm not sure what you mean by science and technology." She then recalled, "I remember seeing a flying man wearing a red and gold suit of armor and shooting beams of light from his hands…"

"We call him Iron Man." Dr. Strange replied. "He's an example of one of those who gained their abilities through technology."

"There was another man who could stretch and a woman who turns herself invisible and…"

"Those are the Fantastic Four." The mage chuckled. "Reed's a scientist, but they gained their powers by accident. As for you…if you don't mind, I'd like to read your aura." Seeing the look of doubt on the young woman's face, the Sorcerer Supreme quickly assured, "It's not invasive and I won't be prying into your mind or anything like that. We all have an aura that surrounds us…" He explained, "By reading yours, I can hopefully learn whether you were born with your powers, gained them through a mystic means you might not know about, or got them by accident. I promise it won't hurt."

"All right." Evelyn reluctantly agreed, "So long as it doesn't hurt or have any bad effects."

"Interesting…" The man seemed to Evelyn to be looking directly into her soul. "It appears that there is far more to you than what lies on the surface. Your aura is strong, but conflicted. There's a lot of good in you…"

"Thank you." Evelyn's lips turned up in a sad smile, "While Nan and Reverend Mother Mallol might have disagreed at times, I know my mother and father would have liked to have heard you say that."

"It's true." The mage's lips turned up into a momentary smile before his face once again took on a serious demeanor, "But…" He cautioned, "There is also something else there…something dark…I saw the same thing in the demon."

"That's probably the Taint." Evelyn somberly replied. Seeing the curious look on the man's face, she further explained, "I'm a Grey Warden."

"What exactly is a Grey Warden?" Dr. Strange inquired.

"I'm still learning myself." Evelyn chuckled nervously, "They didn't tell me everything." She then spent several minutes outlining everything she knew about the Grey Wardens. "When you become a Warden…" Evelyn said, concluding her report, "…they have this ceremony that involves magic and drinking a potion that's a mixture of lyrium, darkspawn blood, and I don't know what else. It's supposed to make us immune to the Taint, but I have a feeling it has some ugly consequences that no one's told me about yet."

"Your instincts are quite correct there, young lady." The man declared. "Now, I need you to answer a few questions for me and please, my dear, answer them honestly. First, did you go into this ceremony not knowing all the risks?"

"Yes." Evelyn nodded her head. "I didn't have a choice. No one would tell me and yes, I did ask."

"All right." The mage nodded his head thoughtfully. "Second, did the person or persons conducting this ceremony make an effort to inform you as to the dangers?"

"No." Evelyn violently shook her head. "As I said, no one would tell me anything about it. I remember asking Alistair and all he'd say was 'You'll see…'."

"Ok…" The doctor again nodded his head. "One more question. Were you forced into it?"

"Yes." Evelyn responded, nodding her head vigorously. "They didn't give anyone a choice. Daveth drank willingly and was killed by the taint. Ser Jory refused—tried to back out during the ceremony after Daveth was killed. Duncan…" The young redhead gritted her teeth and cringed as she remembered that fateful day, "…ran the poor man through when he drew his sword to defend himself. I knew Ser Jory. He was no coward and wasn't a bad man. He was just in over his head."

"Yes." The mage nodded his head in sympathy. "I've seen that happen all too often. He sounds like one of those men who did not deserve their fate. Now…tell me more about this Blight."

"Again…" Evelyn shook her head. "I don't know too much—I'm still learning, but here's what I know…" The young Warden then passed on what little she had learned from her studies as a child under Brother Aldous, and later from Duncan and Alistair.

"This could be a problem if it got out into the wider multiverse…" The Sorcerer Supreme of Earth conjectured. "It's definitely something to keep an eye on. I can think of several individuals and groups such as Doctor Doom, Hydra, the Hand, and others who would attempt to harness it."

"Trying to harness the darkspawn and the Blight?" Evelyn exclaimed, "That would be incredibly stupid!"

"Oh, I quite agree, young lady!" Dr. Strange nodded his head in strong affirmation. "But…the sad truth is that there are those who would go to any means to accomplish their goals. But…enough about that for now…let's turn to that taint within you…you said that a kennel master told you about a wild flower?"

"Yes." Evelyn nodded, "He said that he was taught a recipe using that flower, lyrium, and a couple of other herbs. That it could heal a dog suffering from the taint. I asked him whether that would work on a human, dwarf, or elf. He said he wasn't sure."

"It's possible it would." Stephen replied, drawing on his prior experiences as a world renowned doctor and surgeon. "Tests would have to be run. I can easily handle the magical and mystical tests, but we'd also need someone more experienced in biochemistry than I. Hank Pym perhaps? Hank McCoy might also be of help—he's an expert biochemist too. Yes. I think I might get in contact with them and see what they have to say."

Feeling the stirrings of hope, Evelyn asked, "Does this mean that you could find a cure for the Taint?"

"Maybe." The doctor replied, sounding a note of caution. "First, we'd need to get hold of your recipe and physical samples of the ingredients and draw blood samples from someone suffering from the Taint. Then we'd have to run tests and experiments…"

"Blood samples?" Evelyn interjected, feeling a note of queasiness at where the conversation was heading. "You don't mean using blood magic, do you?"

"You're right to be cautious." Dr. Strange answered with a smile. "Especially where blood magic is concerned. Very little good and much evil comes from such practices. But you need not worry here." He said reassuringly, "I'm not talking about blood magic at all. It's all conjecture anyway right now. We'd need physical samples and, unless something happens to change all that, that's not very likely."

"So…what am I?" Evelyn again asked.

"Well…" Doctor Strange responded, "You're part human…"

"Part human?" A surprised Evelyn exclaimed, "What do you mean? Was one of my parents a dwarf or an elf?"

"No." The mage chuckled and shook his head. "One of your parents did not come from whatever Earth as you originally came from. I can see that one of your parents is indeed human—although not from your Thedas."

"You mean I'm not Ferelden or even from my world?" A surprised Evelyn gasped.

"Exactly." Doctor Strange nodded his head. "You were originally born on an alternate world to the one you're on now. Which means…" The sorcerer supreme conjectured, "…that either or both of your parents are capable of traversing dimensional boundaries. That implies a great deal of knowledge and/or power."

"Could Apeiria be one of my parents?" Evelyn asked and then began to tell the doctor about her spirit guide only to be interrupted with musical laughter.

"I was wondering when my name would be mentioned." Apeiria declared, manifesting herself within the Doctor's Sanctum Sanctorum.

"Infinity." Doctor Strange nodded his head in greeting. "Where is your brother."

"He's around." The cosmic avatar laughed, "You know that wherever Infinity is, Eternity is not far behind."

"Wait a minute…" Evelyn interrupted, "Infinity…Eternity…what is going on here."

"Why don't you explain things to the dear one." Apeiria grinned, "You do it so much better than I."

"This is going to take a while, Evelyn." Doctor Strange sighed as he conjured up three chairs. "Might as well make ourselves comfortable."

"Not bad, Stephen." Apeiria chuckled as the mystic finished his lecture. "Simplified, but that's all right. No need to confuse the girl any more than she already is."

"So…" Evelyn furrowed her brows as she took in what the sorcerer supreme had just told her, "You're saying that my father did not come from Thedas and that Apeiria, who is really a…cosmic…entity…called Infinity…is my mother?"

"Sorta kinda." Apeiria chuckled. "You see…" She explained, "Normally we…I'm referring to myself and my fellow entities…don't really like to interfere with what you mortals are doing. We have our own thing and let you do yours. But every once in a while, a particular mortal or group of mortals like Victor von Doom or Hydra forces us to act either to maintain the stability of the multiverse or simply for our own self-preservation."

"This man Doom is that powerful?" Evelyn exclaimed in disbelief.

"I've found that it's a good idea to never underestimate the ability of mortals such as yourself to do great good or great mischief." Infinity replied with a shrug of her shoulders, "And von Doom has proven himself to be a particularly dangerous mortal."

"And driven." Doctor Strange added.

"He has actually challenged and defeated cosmic entities before." Apeiria flatly declared. "So…we tend to take him…and Thanos…very seriously."

"So…what am I? Am I immortal?" Seeing Apeiria shake her head, Evelyn sighed, "I'm mortal?"

"I'm afraid so, my dear." Apeiria responded with a note of maternal sympathy. "You see…when one of us travels to the mortal realm, we have to take on avatars and there's no guarantee what or how powerful our avatars will be, but they're almost always mortal—they have to be. One time, I had to travel to an alternate Earth to fix something that one of my fellow entities did—don't worry about it now, it's all taken care of—I think. In any event, to do so, I took on human form, becoming a superhero. While in that form, I fell in love—yeah—I know—silly—but—it happens to all of us. Imagine my surprise when my avatar became pregnant and then I had you."

"So…what happened?" Evelyn asked.

"A calamity. One of those mortals who shouldn't have such power managed to gain control over the Infinity Gems." Apeiria sighed. "This being had gotten out of control to the point where he would have destroyed that universe if we didn't stop him. To protect you, in case things didn't work, my human lover and I conspired to send you to this Thedas. You see, most of the Thedas's are kind of backwater dimensions in the multiverse—no offense meant." The cosmic entity smiled. "So we thought you would be safe there. We were going to come back for you once we'd defeated our enemy, but he was strong…very strong. We stopped him, but it cost my lover his life and my avatar in that dimension was destroyed. And so, you were stranded on Thedas."

"So…who destroyed the village where my father found me?" Evelyn asked.

"I don't know." Apeiria shook her head sadly. "Ironic isn't it—I'm Infinity—I control all of space and my brother is Eternity—he controls time—yet what happened at that time and in that space is closed to us. I think either the Living Tribunal or the One Above All is keeping that from us. For what reason or reasons? I don't know."

"So…what should I do?" Evelyn asked as she sensed that her time on the astral plane was drawing to a close.

"Just keep on doing what you're doing, my child." Apeiria responded. "When the time comes, you'll know what to do."

"Infinity is right, Evelyn." Doctor Strange smiled. "You have the makings of a hero. But one thing you should do…" He advised. "Practice using your powers. You need to get a handle on them…"

"Or I'll end up burning the market in Denerim." Evelyn quipped.

"Right." The mystic chuckled, "And we don't want that."

"I'm going to have to practice when no one's watching…that…or let my companions know who and what I am." Evelyn sighed, "People don't exactly fly on Thedas and those who shoot beams of light or other things from their hands are considered mages…"

"Be careful." Doctor Strange advised, "And be discreet. You know your friends and companions best—whether they can be trusted or not. But do practice. Remember these words…" He said whispering in her ear, "…they will bring your astral form here. Use them if you find yourself in danger or just need to talk."

"And I'll always be around." Apeiria grinned, "Just call on me."

"Thanks." Evelyn responded as she felt a slight shiver. "What was that?" She exclaimed in alarm.

"Nothing." Doctor Strange responded reassuringly, "That just means you're about to awaken. Good bye for now…we'll speak again."

"We'll speak again, my child." Apeiria waved as Evelyn's astral form slowly faded away.

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"Bad dreams?"

Stirring on hearing those words, Evelyn sat up on her pallet Turning her head, she saw Alistair sitting down close by, gazing intently at her.

"What?" Evelyn stammered. Then, in an indignant tone, demanded, "How long have you been sitting there watching me?"

"Not long." Alistair responded defensively. "I saw you thrashing about for a while and then calm down. Were you having dreams? Bad dreams?"

"Yeah." Evelyn partly confessed. "I dreamed I saw the Archdemon."

"You did." Alistair affirmed. "That's one of the…benefits…of becoming a Grey Warden. The Archdemon…you can hear him. Some of the older Wardens say they can make out his words."

"What else comes with becoming a Grey Warden?" Evelyn demanded.

"Well…" Alistair replied, "For starters, you don't have to worry about having children."

Seeing the shocked look on the junior Warden's face, Alistair continued. "It gets worse." He then explained everything he knew about the Grey Wardens.

"Why didn't you or Duncan tell me this earlier—like before I was joined?" Evelyn exclaimed, her voice now taking on an accusatory edge.

"There wasn't time." Alistair retorted. "I wanted to tell you. But there are things I wasn't permitted to tell you until you had completed your Joining. Then…I presume…after the battle…had we won it…Duncan and I would have filled you in on everything. Look…" The young Warden said earnestly, "There was no effort to deceive you and I'm trying to be completely honest with you now."

"Fair enough." Evelyn sighed, "Are there any other secrets I should know about?"

"Other than not being able to have children, not having to worry about dying of old age, and having to eat like a horse to keep your energy up…no…" Alistair drawled, further qualifying, "Not that I know of. Remember, I haven't been a Warden that long either. There are things Duncan didn't tell me because he…' The former templar choked up, "…didn't have time."

Standing up, Evelyn placed a supportive hand on fellow Warden's shoulder, "I'm sorry, Alistair. I forgot how close you were to Duncan—that he was, in many ways, family to you. I know what it means to lose family. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"It's all right." Alistair looked up and flashed a brief, sad smile. "You didn't know Duncan as well as I did and I know you blame him…and me…for what happened with Ser Jory and your Joining. I can't apologize for Duncan—he's gone now—but—for what it's worth—I do apologize for my part in what happened. I'm sorry."

"It's worth a great deal, Alistair." Evelyn responded kindly before continuing in a gentle, yet firm, voice. "What he did to Ser Jory was wrong, Alistair. And you both should have been honest with me…all of us, really…from the beginning. But…what's done is done. It does none of us any good to continue dwelling on the mistakes of the past—especially now. So…" She said as she extended her hand, "Fresh start?"

Standing up, Alistair grasped Evelyn's hand with his and smiled. "Fresh start." The ex-templar affirmed.

"Great." Evelyn smiled back. "Now…why don't you get some sleep. We've got a long day's march ahead of us tomorrow if we're going to Redcliffe."

"You should get back to sleep as well." Alistair advised as he turned towards his tent.

"I will." Evelyn responded, "But first…I think I'm going to take a brief walk about. Don't worry…" She chuckled as she saw the look of concern on his face, "I won't wander too far from the camp. I just need to stretch my legs a little and maybe look at the stars."

"All right." Alistair nodded his head, "But don't be out too long."

"I won't." Evelyn smiled back as she walked away.

Watching quietly and discreetly, Leliana smiled as she saw the two Wardens' friendly parting. Turning towards Izzy, the bard placed a gentle hand on his head and petted him. "It's good to see your mistress and Alistair make up, is it not, Izzy?"

"Woof!" The mabari barked in apparent agreement as he trotted off after his mistress.

"Izzy!" Evelyn smiled as she saw her faithful hound lumbering after her. Waiting for him to catch up to her, the redheaded Warden bent down to whisper, "Now…we're going off into the woods so that I can do my thing. You have to promise not to tell anyone, ok?"

Izzy licked his mistress's face in agreement as she petted him. "Good boy." She praised as the pair wandered away from the campfires. After several minutes of walking, Evelyn stopped in a small open clearing. Looking about to make sure no one was watching, the Warden spoke softly to her dog, "You sense anyone out there, boy?"

Sniffing the air, the mabari gave a gentle bark telling his mistress that all was clear.

"Good boy!" Evelyn smiled as she disrobed. Concentrating, she soon felt the warm feeling that told her that she had now transformed into her powered form. Feeling the power surging through her, Evelyn launched herself into the air, laughing joyously as she felt the rush of the wind. "This is wonderful!" She cried out as she practiced turning and speeding up and slowing down and even doing a few somersaults and maneuvers—doing everything that Doctor Strange had taught her. She spent at least an hour, perhaps more, the young superhero had lost all track of time, enjoying the crystal clear night, her golden form a meteor flashing through the night's sky until, finally, she reluctantly returned to the ground next to her dog. Returning to her normal form, Evelyn paused to catch her breath before putting her clothes back on. "Time to go back, Izzy." The young Warden smiled as she finished dressing. "Don't know about you, boy, but I can't wait to do that again!"

Looking up into the night's sky, Leliana gasped as she saw a golden form darting across the sky. Rubbing her eyes in disbelief, the redheaded bard gasped, "No…can't be…"

"What?" Alistair asked.

"It was nothing." The former Chantry sister responded, "I just thought I saw something, but I think it more likely it was a reaction to your stew."

"Well…thanks." The ex-templar huffed as he walked away.

"Can't be." Leliana whispered to herself as she returned to her tent. "I did not see a naked golden Evelyn fly through the air doing somersaults."

_And we peel of another layer in the mystery of Evelyn's true origin as well as meet Dr. Strange. I'm not used to writing the Sorcerer Supreme, so I hope I did an adequate job with him. Next up, Redcliffe and its mysteries…_


	7. Chapter 7

Infinity's Child

Part Seven

As they prepared to cross the bridge to their destination, the village of Redcliffe, Alistair pulled his fellow Warden aside. "Evelyn…can I talk to you for a moment. In private."

With a sinking feeling at the pit of her stomach, Evelyn replied with a false smile, "Sure, Alistair." Once the pair had moved far enough away where she was sure that they were out of earshot of the others, Evelyn took a deep breath, "Look, Alistair. I'm sorry…"

Quickly interrupting the former templar, spoke, "I should have told you this earlier and I'm sorry I didn't. There's something about me that you should know before we go into Redcliffe."

Feeling both relieved and embarrassed that Alistair was not going to talk to her about her powers, Evelyn sighed, "What, Alistair? What's wrong?"

"Remember when I told you I was an orphan?" As Evelyn nodded her head, Alistair continued, "Well…I never knew my mother, but she was a serving girl at Redcliffe castle…"

"So…you were born in service?" Evelyn interjected with a shrug of her shoulders, "Nothing wrong with that. Besides…you're a Warden now. Your previous station in life is immaterial."

"That's not it." Alistair shook his head. "My mother was a serving girl, but my father…my father was King Maric." As Evelyn's eyes widened at the news, the young former templar continued, "Maric was here and…"

"My father told me how Maric had problems keeping his trousers buttoned." Evelyn sighed, then, as Alistair's news sunk in, she exclaimed. "Wait a minute! Are you trying to say that…"

"Just so." Alistair nodded his head. "My mother and…others…were given a few sovereigns by Arl Eamon to keep it all quiet and the arl kept and raised me."

"I see…"

"It wasn't as if I received any preferential treatment." Alistair quickly declared with more than a slight note of resentment in his voice. "I was relegated to the stables and given menial jobs. Had I not been sent to the Chantry, odds are I'd have become a groom in the arl's service."

"So…why did Eamon pack you off to the Chantry to become a templar?" Evelyn inquired.

"Isolde." Alistair replied. "Eamon had just married the arlessa and I think she felt threatened by me. She felt that I was Eamon's bastard. So, she pushed the arl to have me sent to the Chantry."

"I think I understand." Evelyn murmured, "So…you blamed the arl."

"You're damn right I did!" Alistair replied angrily, "But I was young…and foolish." He said, his voice becoming more somber and regretful. "He gave me an amulet of my mother's once. I threw it against a wall and dashed it into pieces. After that…the arl stopped coming to see me."

"I'm sorry, Alistair." Evelyn whispered consolingly.

"Thanks, Evelyn." Alistair smiled, "I want you to understand though, this doesn't change a thing. I'm not claiming the throne and I don't want it. I'm a Warden now and the only things I want to do are kill Loghain for his treason and end the Blight."

Momentarily arching her eyebrows as she heard the order in which her fellow Warden listed his priorities, Evelyn placed a hand on Alistair's shoulder, "I promise, we'll get to the bottom of what's going on and put things to rights."

"Thank you." Alistair responded, "For now, though, let's get on to Redcliffe. I want to find out what's going on there."

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"Undead!" Evelyn sighed, "I did not need to hear that!"

"I know." Leliana replied, shaking her head sadly, "Those poor people."

"Undead probably also means blood magic." Alistair grumbled as Sten growled under his breath.

"If you would keep your saarebas under proper control, this would not happen."

"What would you recommend?" Morrigan retorted snippily. "Would you cut our tongues out and sew our mouths shut?"

"It works for us." Sten laconically replied.

"I'd like to see you try that with me." Morrigan tauntingly countered as the qunari seemed prepared to take the witch up on her words.

"Enough!" Evelyn exclaimed in a loud voice, silencing the others. "Blood magic is probably involved, but we don't know for sure. We do know that there are demons—that means either someone summoned them or there's another problem."

"A weakness or tear in the Veil between our world and the Fade would allow demons to cross without necessarily being summoned." Morrigan explained, "Although…something or someone would have had to cause the weakening or tear to begin with."

"That's something we can determine after we take care of the immediate problem." Evelyn declared.

"So…" Alistair drawled, "What now?"

"Leliana? You get that blacksmith on board." Evelyn directed, "Do whatever you have to do to convince him to start turning out proper armor for the militia. Take Sten along. He's great at looking menacing."

Growling, Sten bluntly declared, "He deserves death. He is willing to place his own selfish desires before that of the community. Typical of your people."

"He's emotionally distraught." Leliana countered, "And so not thinking properly."

"Exactly." Sten agreed, "His inability to control his emotions endangers everyone."

"He's the only blacksmith here capable enough of doing the repairs in the limited time we have." Evelyn pointed out, "We have to have him alive, in one piece, and on board. So…no killing and no breaking arms or legs."

"We'll bring him around." Leliana stated confidently.

Turning to Morrigan, Evelyn requested, "Morrigan? Check the stores and all. See if there's something we can use to rig up some makeshift defenses."

"What sort of things are you looking for?" The witch responded with an arched eyebrow.

"Oil…barricades…grease…acid…" Evelyn replied. "Anything that can serve as an obstacle or be used as a trap."

"Understood." The dark-haired mage acknowledged.

"What about us?" Alistair asked, pointing to Evelyn and himself.

"First, we go to Ser Perth and see what he needs. Then we rustle up that dwarf, Dwyn and get him to get his rear motivated." Turning her attention to the full group, Evelyn concluded, "We meet back here in front of the Chantry in…two hours. That should give us enough time to make final preparations before nightfall. Now…if there are no questions, let's move—we've got a lot to do and not much time to do it in."

A couple of hours later, they all returned to the front of the Chantry as Evelyn had instructed. "How did everyone make out?" Evelyn inquired.

"I got Owen, the blacksmith to repair the militia's armor and weapons." Leliana reported, "But I had to promise him that afterwards we'd go to the castle to rescue his daughter."

"She is most likely dead." Sten bluntly declared, "But the promise sufficed. No further coercion was necessary."

"Good." Evelyn nodded her head, "Sten's probably right…" The redheaded Warden remarked sadly, "She probably is dead. But, we're most likely going to have to go to the castle anyway after we secure the village, so, it wouldn't do any harm to look for her while we're there."

"Agreed." Leliana and Alistair affirmed in unison as they nodded their heads while Morrigan derisively rolled her eyes and Sten settled for a somber shake of his head.

"Morrigan? What did you find?"

"I found some barrels of oil and a sword." The apostate mage declared as she produced a finely smithed blade.

"Where did you find such a fine sword?" Evelyn inquired.

"Twas hidden by a boy." Morrigan responded. "I…convinced…him to part with it."

"You frightened him into it, you mean." Alistair interjected with a scowl.

"What does it matter what means I used to convince him." Morrigan retorted, "What matters is that we have the blade. It is enchanted and well made."

"And not ours." Evelyn declared as Leliana, Morrigan, and Sten all three nodded their heads in agreement.

"That blade is an extension of its owner's soul." Sten declared. "It most likely belonged to the boy's father."

"It did as a matter of fact." Morrigan interrupted with a shrug of her shoulders, "So what?"

"So…it is likely that the father intended to bequeath it to his son when he became old enough to wield it." Sten declared.

"Sten's right." Evelyn affirmed, "The blade belongs to the boy." Turning to Morrigan, the Warden instructed, "Return the sword to its owner. Izzy will go with you…right boy?" The mabari barked, nudging a reluctant Morrigan.

"All right, mongrel!" The witch huffed, "I will do your mistress's bidding."

As Morrigan and Izzy left, Evelyn turned to the others, "We'll send the barrels to Ser Perth. He'll know how to best utilize them. Dwyn's on board and he directed us to an elf named Berwick who—it just so happens—was a spy for Loghain."

"Oh?" Leliana interjected.

"Sent to observe goings on at the castle." Evelyn explained. "It appears that Loghain's plans ran far deeper than just a spur of the moment decision at Ostagar. Eamon was poisoned before he could mobilize the Redcliffe forces to go to Ostagar."

"Do we know anything about the poisoning?" Leliana asked.

"No." Evelyn shook her head. "Berwick was ordered to just observe and report back. However, he got stuck here when the undead started attacking."

"Serves him right." Alistair caustically remarked.

"Perhaps…" Evelyn responded, "Perhaps not. In any event, he's agreed to join in the defense along with the owner of the tavern…"

"After a bit of arm twisting on our part." Alistair interrupted.

"Just so." Evelyn nodded her head. "We also have to pick up some amulets from the Reverend Mother to give to Ser Perth and his men."

"Why?" Leliana inquired.

"He believes that the soldiers and knights will fight better if they think that Andraste and the Maker are protecting them." Evelyn answered back.

"But…" Leliana protested, "…that's giving those men false hope."

"That's what I said." Alistair sighed.

"False hope is better than no hope at all." Evelyn flatly declared. "Belief is a powerful thing. If they believe that the Maker and Andraste are helping them, then they might fight that little bit harder and that little bit might just be the edge we need to win this."

Shaking his head, Sten grumbled, "That is your weakness. You rely on superstition. But…if that superstition helps these people to fight, then you should use it."

"Fine. All right." Alistair sighed. "We'll deliver the amulets to Ser Perth and his men."

"Good, Alistair." Evelyn's lips turned up in a slight smile, "And thanks."

"Nightfall will be coming soon." Morrigan said, pointing to the setting sun. "How do you wish to proceed?"

"Morrigan? You and Leliana will help me and Ser Perth out. Sten, Alistair, and Izzy will help in the village." Evelyn directed, "Your magic is more oriented towards destruction than healing, so having you in the close confines of the village would be a waste of your talents. On the main battlefield, you can cut loose."

"Agreed." The dark haired witch nodded her head.

"And Sten, you're a natural leader. I'm placing you in command of the defense of the village. Try to give Murdock, the mayor, at least a show of deference—for diplomacy's sake if nothing else. But—make no mistake—I want you giving the orders." Turning to Alistair, Evelyn remarked apologetically, "Do you understand why I've placed Sten in charge and not you?"

"Yes." The ex-templar nodded his head, "I'd much prefer to follow than lead anyway."

Evelyn muttered softly to herself, "And that is why."

Nodding his head, the giant qunari, who had overheard Evelyn's whispers, rumbled in a soft, barely audible voice that only she could hear, "Very wise."

"And as for you, Leliana…" Evelyn explained, turning her attention to the red-headed archer, "We've got plenty of archers and light troops in the village. Ser Perth could use us to skirmish."

"Right." The other redhead responded as she checked her bow.

"Izzy…" Evelyn commanded as she petted her dog, "Go with Sten. Follow his orders during the battle, ok?"

As Izzy barked happily, Alistair turned to Leliana and whispered, "Ok? What does that mean?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Leliana replied, "I have no idea."

"I guess it's just another Evelynism." Alistair sighed as the redheaded Warden regarded her group.

"All right…Night'll be here soon, so take care of what you need to take care of and report to where you're supposed to be. And…" She concluded, her face etched with concern for her friends, "…take care of yourselves. I don't want to see any of you come back as undead."

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"There are too many!" Leliana cried out, pointing, as she and Evelyn darted in and out of the fray, slashing and stabbing at the undead. "The knights are about to be overrun and Morrigan is exhausted."

Looking in the direction her red-headed companion was pointing, Evelyn could see Ser Perth and his knights dangerously pressed as Dwyn the dwarf continued fighting, even though his two thugs had already fallen. She could also see Berwick firing arrows as rapidly as possible but, even though the majority of his arrows seemed to find their mark, the numbers of undead did not seem to diminish. Further back she could see Morrigan, her mana near depletion, leaning on her staff, catching a breath, after launching a fireball much weaker than its predecessors.

"I don't think we can last much longer." A tired Leliana gasped as a runner dashed to Evelyn.

"Milady! Warden Alistair sends this message: We need help now! We are about to be overrun." Pausing for a moment, the messenger added, "He also told me to tell you that if you have any tricks up your sleeve, now would be a good time to use them."

Sighing, Evelyn first addressed the messenger, "Tell Alistair help is on its way." As the runner departed, Evelyn turned to Leliana and stripped off her clothes.

"What are you doing?" A shocked Leliana cried out as the sounds of battle grew louder, "We don't have time for whatever it is you're doing. We should be in the fight."

"I'll explain everything later." Evelyn promised, giving herself over to her power as she ignored her companion's softly gasped, "Maker's breath!"

Feeling a surge of power as the now familiar golden aura surrounded her, Evelyn leaped up into the sky and quickly climbed up into the air, astonishing the Orlesian bard.

"I said I'd explain everything later! Now, get back to the fight!" Evelyn called down to Leliana. "I'll hit them from above, but I need you and Morrigan to help!"

Fighting down her fear, Leliana drew her bow and began launching arrows into the undead attackers as Morrigan, having quaffed down a lyrium potion, launched yet more fireballs. Looking down on the melee, Evelyn launched beams of light energy from her hands, disintegrating the undead as the light impacted. Looking up, one of the knights cried out, "Andraste herself has come to our rescue!" With a scream of "Andraste!" the Redcliffe knights surged forward, their blows felling the undead all around them as Evelyn continued her light barrage from on high.

"Damn." Evelyn swore in a soft voice as she heard Andraste's name being called out. "This I don't need." Noticing that the renewed vigor of the Redcliffe knights' defense was now pushing the undead back, Evelyn called down to Leliana, "Keep pushing at them. I'm going to the village to help Alistair and the others."

"One falls and another ten seem to take their place!" Tomas, one of the militia members, cried out as Izzy leaped up, saving the poor man from the undead creature that had nearly bashed in his skull.

"Keep fighting!" Sten barked out as he wielded his two-handed sword as a cleaver, cutting a wide swathe all around him.

"I hope Evelyn got our message." Alistair remarked grimly as he bashed an undead to the ground with his shield, following that up with a sword hack that removed the carrion's head from its body.

Just then, almost as if in answer to his prayer, a beam of light struck a cluster of undead gathered around Murdock who had been knocked senseless to the ground. Bathed in the golden light, the walking corpses disintegrated.

"What?" Alistair exclaimed his eyes looking up towards the origin point of the light beams. Spying the radiant figure of a young woman—and not just any young woman, but that of Evelyn—flying through the air, surrounded by a golden aura, the former templar could only stand in shocked disbelief until Evelyn's sharp voice combined with Izzy's rough nudging roused him from his stupor.

"I'll explain everything later!" Evelyn called down, "Right now, I need you and Sten to rally the villagers and help me push those walking corpses back."

Shaking himself back into reality, Alistair did as he was told. "Right everyone. Push now!" The ex-templar's sword and shield, combined with Sten's controlled swings, Izzy's ferocity, and Evelyn's beams of light turned the tide of battle.

Watching as the undead faded back towards the castle, Evelyn sighed with relief. "Meet me back at the camp." She ordered, "I'll fetch the others and then I'll explain everything."

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Seeing the others already waiting for her at the camp, Evelyn slowly descended to the ground. Allowing herself to change back into her normal form, the young redhead staggered momentarily, only to be caught by a concerned Alistair.

"Thank you, Alistair. Changing back and forth is getting easier, but it's still a bit of a strain." Holding out her hand, Evelyn asked, "Can I have my clothes back, Leliana."

"Sure." The Orlesian bard responded as she handed Evelyn's belted loincloth and top back to her.

"Thank you." Her lips turning up into a shaky smile, Evelyn explained, "One of the hassles about changing is that my light form burns my clothing, so I have to take it off."

Averting his eyes until Evelyn had finished dressing, Alistair then asked the questions that were on everyone's lips, "All right, Evelyn. What happened to you…who are you…what are you?"

"Who am I?" Evelyn repeated with pride in her voice, "I'm Evelyn Cousland, the adopted daughter of Bryce and Eleanor Cousland." Pausing for a moment, she then repeated the next questions, "As to what am I and what happened to me…that's going to take a bit longer to explain."

"We have time." Sten laconically observed. "Are you saarebas?"

"Am I a mage?" Evelyn responded as Sten nodded his head. "No." She replied, shaking her head vehemently. "And yes, I've been tested numerous times as a child. I have no magical aptitude."

"She is no mage." Morrigan concurred. "Such is obvious. Her abilities are not derived from mana or lyrium."

"What are you, then?" Alistair asked. "I don't know anyone who can make themselves glow and fly and shoot beams of light from their hands. Well…mages shoot lightning, fire, and frost from their hands, but I don't think that's what you're shooting."

"It isn't." Evelyn replied, shaking her head. Then, heaving a deep sigh, she tried to answer her fellow Warden's question. "It's kind of difficult to explain what I am."

"You are human…aren't you?" Alistair asked in a voice that was half kidding—half serious.

"Yes!" Evelyn emphatically responded, "Well…" She then qualified, "I guess you could say I'm mostly human."

"Mostly human?" Alistair exclaimed, arching his eyebrows.

"Yes." Evelyn replied in a low voice. "You see, my father was human, but my mother…" she rushed, "…wastheavatarofacosmicentitycalledInfinity."

"Huh?" Alistair interjected, "What? What do you mean avatar?"

"And do you mean by cosmic entity?" Leliana inquired, her eyes narrowing. "Are you claiming to be Andraste and from the Maker?"

"No." Evelyn shook her head vigorously. "I am NOT Andraste! And I most definitely WAS NOT sent by the Maker or a child of the Maker!"

"The Warden speaks the truth." Morrigan quietly, but firmly, stated. "My mother knew this to be so."

"What do you mean?" Alistair inquired, turning his attention to the dark-haired witch. "Are you saying that Flemeth knew all along about Evelyn, but didn't tell any of us?"

"That is exactly what I am saying." Morrigan tartly responded, "Are you deaf…or dumb as well? I know little myself…" Morrigan confessed, "Only what Mother has told me. But there are…forces and entities…in the cosmos that are far older and greater than Andraste and the Maker."

"Greater than the Maker?" Leliana laughed.

"Far greater." Morrigan responded with a grave face. "Mother told me the names of some of them: The One Above All who no one knows, The Three in One who judges all and answers only to The One and to whom all but The One answer, Infinity and Eternity who look after all of space and time, Chaos and Order locked in their endless war, and there are others such as the World Devourer and the Phoenix. They exist in one form or another in all of the multiverses and can cross over from one to another as we travel from Ferelden to Orlais…"

"Multiverses?" A quiet, until now, Sten, interrupted. "Explain further."

"I do not understand much myself." Morrigan again confessed, "I do not think even mother fully grasps the concept of multiverses." Sighing, the apostate mage knelt down on the ground, bidding the others to do likewise. "This will take some time." She explained, "So, you might as well make yourselves comfortable." Morrigan then attempted to explain, as much as she was able to find the words to do so, the concept of multiple Thedas and other worlds and dimensions.

"I think I have a headache." Alistair groaned dramatically as Morrigan finished her lecture.

"I'm not sure I can even hope to understand all this." Leliana added, her face reflecting a measure of skepticism.

"This is all contrary to the qun." Sten declared

"And yet…" Evelyn declared, "It's the truth. I've seen these other dimensions and worlds…"

"In your dreams…" Alistair interjected.

"Yes." Evelyn nodded her head, "In my dreams. It seems that one of my abilities is that I can travel through what Doctor Strange calls the astral plane."

"Doctor Strange?" Alistair chuckled.

"Stephen Strange." Evelyn replied her facial expression stony and serious. "He is a mage on his Earth—and a very powerful one from what little I saw. He said he was the Sorcerer Supreme of that Earth.

"So…what is he then, some sort of First First Enchanter?" Alistair inquired half-joking.

"I got the impression it's a bit more than that." Evelyn responded, "He told me that his job was to protect his Earth from mystical threats from that and other dimensions. Anyway, there are no Circles or templars where he comes from."

"No Circles…no templars?" Leliana exclaimed, "Assuming this is all true—and you have to admit…" The Orlesian bard pointed out, her face still reflecting her skepticism, "…you are asking us to accept an awful lot. For instance, how do they keep their mages under control?"

"I don't know much myself." Evelyn replied with a note of challenge in her voice, "But I'll tell you what he told me and you can decide what to believe or not to believe."

"Fair enough." Alistair responded, "Go ahead…we're listening."

Much…much…later, Alistair stood up and shook his head. "I don't know what to say." He declared, quickly raising a hand as he saw the angry look on Evelyn's face. "Now…now…don't get all glowy on us…please don't! I believe you believe what you say is true." The ex-templar sincerely stated, "It's just that a lot of what you said…are you sure it's not some demon trying to trick you?"

"That's what I'm thinking." Leliana interjected, adding, "I think you fully believe that you are telling the truth. But demons…"

"Demons can be persuasive." Sten interrupted. "Perhaps you are being misled."

"I'm not." Evelyn shook her head and sighed, "But I can see that you'll never believe me—and I guess it is asking a lot for you to do so. Worlds and universes full of miracles who fly, turn invisible, are stronger than a hundred men, who travel the distances between the stars as easily as we travel from one village to another…that is asking a lot for you to accept based on my word alone. I wish I could show you these people…these wonders. Then you would see just how…marvelous…it all is."

"I'm sorry, Evelyn…" Alistair replied, only to be cut off by a voice calling out to the group.

"Hello the camp! Permission to come closer?"

"That's Bann Teagan's voice!" Alistair declared. Raising his voice, the former templar called out, "Come closer, my lord! Be welcome!"

"My thanks." The bann replied as he drew closer to the where Evelyn and the others were gathered. "I wish to offer my thanks for your aid this night and to ask a boon of you."

"Anything, my lord." Alistair quickly answered, cutting off Evelyn's reply.

"I need to ask you to meet me tomorrow morning at the mill." The bann pleaded, "I must find out what is happening at the castle and I need your assistance."

"Why don't we go now?" Evelyn declared, "We're up to it."

"You might be, milady." Teagan replied, "But my knights are not. They have fought hard and have taken losses—although the losses could have been far worse without your help." Shaking his head, the bann remarked, "They also all bring strange tales of a marvel. Andraste Herself coming to their aid on angel's wings!"

"They were fighting hard and were scared and stressed." Evelyn smiled back, "It was probably just their imagination…"

"Just so." Teagan nodded his head in agreement. "People in dire straits will often look to the miraculous…"

"Such as ashes." Sten grumbled.

"Perhaps." Teagan sighed, "In any event…will you be at the mill tomorrow morning?"

"We will." Evelyn nodded her head, quickly hushing Sten as he looked like he was about to object. "We need to ascertain the condition of the arl and do what we can to aid him."

"My thanks, milady Cousland." Teagan politely bowed and then turned to leave, "Tomorrow then."

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"Can someone again explain to me why we're doing this?" Morrigan grumbled as the party emerged from the hidden passage underneath Redcliffe castle into what appeared to be the dungeon.

"We're here…" Evelyn sighed, "Because Teagan decided to be a dumbass and go alone into what is almost certainly a trap with Isolde."

"That's what I thought." Morrigan growled, "Now…explain to me why we are doing this when the fool is most likely already dead."

"Because we need to know what's going on." Evelyn replied very much as if she were lecturing a child, "And the best way to do that is to go along with Teagan's plan. Look…" The redheaded Warden sighed, "I know this is a stupid plan and there is a strong probability that Teagan is already dead. But…he might not be. Whoever or whatever controls the castle didn't kill Isolde. There's a good chance that he, she, or it has not killed Teagan. There also might be other survivors such as that blacksmith's daughter. We owe it to them to at least try to find out whether they're still alive or not."

"Your altruism is misplaced." Sten critiqued. "Redcliffe is a lost cause. Even though the village was saved, the survivors are no match for the darkspawn."

"I'm not so sure about that, Sten." Evelyn countered as the party, advancing cautiously, checked each of the cells as they passed them by. "We didn't lose many men either amongst the militia or the knights and morale is high."

"Because they thought Andraste came to their rescue." Alistair caustically remarked, "Wonder what they'd think if they discovered that she was some sort of…"

"Thing? Is that what you meant to say, Alistair?" Evelyn snapped, stopping the party's progress as she glared at her fellow Warden.

"I don't know!" Alistair responded, his voice carrying a sharp edge. "I don't know who…or what…you are. Morrigan insists that you're not a mage…"

"She isn't." The dark-haired apostate declared forcefully.

"So…what are you?" Alistair insisted, "An abomination of some sort?"

"What?" Evelyn cried out, resisting the urge to transform into her other form. "Are you saying I'm some sort of demon…or possessed by a demon?"

"Yes!" Alistair blurted out, "No!" He quickly amended, "I don't know! I don't know what to think."

Calming down, Evelyn replied in as measured a voice as possible, "Alistair…this is all new to me too. I'm trying to figure out who I am and what I can do myself. None of us…with the exception of Izzy and I…have known each other for very long." She said, addressing the entire group, "So, I know you don't have any reason to trust me, but I'm asking you to do so anyway. I promise you…no demon is possessing me. My thoughts and my soul are my own. I'm going ahead to find out what's going on in this castle, and then, once I sort things out here at Redcliffe, I'm going to fight this Blight and find some way to stop and kill the Archdemon. I'd like to have you with me, but if you don't feel that you can trust me, then I'll understand if you choose to leave. But…if you're going to leave…do it right now…before we go any further. The way back is clear and you can pick up your belongings at the camp and leave. I'm going ahead. Decide what you want to do."

Evelyn then began walking ahead. The first noise she heard was her loyal companion's paws on the floor as Izzy took his customary place beside her. Then, Evelyn heard the unmistakable sound of chainmail and Alistair's low voiced, "All right…all right." Then, she caught sight of Leliana's red hair as she took her position to the rear, readying her bow. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied Morrigan, also taking a position at the rear where she would be most effective. Finally, she heard Sten's heavy foot striking the pavement as he fell in behind her and Izzy and next to Alistair. Her lips turning up in a slight smile, the young Warden pressed forward, only to signal a halt as she heard a low voiced, plaintive cry.

"Someone help! Please!"

Approaching the cell where the call originated, Evelyn and the others spied a dark haired man wearing what appeared to be tattered mage's robes. At once spotting the tell-tale traces of lash marks on his back and the scars from hot irons on his arms and chest, the young Warden began to feel the power surge within her. "This man's been tortured." She said in a low, dangerous voice as she again barely managed to restrain herself.

"You are correct.' Morrigan observed. Turning to the man, she asked, "Why are you in there and why were they torturing you?"

"I poisoned the arl." The man confessed.

"Well that explains why he was being tortured." Alistair huffed in a caustic voice.

"That doesn't justify torture like this." Evelyn replied, "Try him and if found guilty, execute him—yes. But torture—no—never."

"You're too naïve." Morrigan chided, "Surely your father had torture cells in Highever's dungeon."

"As a matter of fact…" Evelyn turned back to the dark haired apostate, "No…he didn't. And believe me, I've been through every inch of that castle—including places that not even mother and father knew about. I can't speak for those who came before Father, but my father and mother never used torture—they didn't have to. Turning to the man, the young Warden began her interrogation. "Who are you and why did you poison the arl?"

"My name is Jowan." The imprisoned mage replied, "And I am an apostate from the Circle."

"One point in his favor already." Morrigan interjected sarcastically.

"Hush, Morrigan." Evelyn commanded, "All right, Jowan…why did you run away from the Circle and why did you poison the arl?"

"I had fled the Circle because it was discovered I was a blood mage." Jowan admitted.

"That's why he's an apostate." Alistair quipped.

"A close friend of mine tried to help me escape the Circle with Lily—an initiate. We had fallen in love with each other." Jowan began only to be interrupted by Leliana.

"Surely…" Leliana remarked, "If she were an initiate she would have taken her vows."

"She had." Jowan replied, his head hung low. "We wanted to run off together—to start a new life with just ourselves. We didn't want to hurt anyone! We were in love!"

"What happened?" Evelyn asked with a note of sympathy in her voice.

"We had nearly escaped with the help of a friend." Jowan answered back. "We'd destroyed my phylactery…"

"The templars would have used that to track him down." Alistair helpfully supplied.

Jowan continued, "…and we were almost out the door when we were stopped by Gregoir, the Knight Commander, and Irving, the First Enchanter." The despondent mage confessed, "It was a trap. They'd known all along. I lashed out…I wasn't thinking…I used blood magic. I escaped, but Lily and Alara…"

"Lily would be the initiate?" Evelyn queried.

"Yes." Jowan nodded his head, "Alara was my friend. Alara Surana. She'd just completed her Harrowing so she was now a full-fledged mage. She helped me because we'd known each other our entire lives and because she wanted to see me and Lily happy."

"This Alara…" The young Warden inquired again, her voice this time a mixture of compassion and foreboding, "Was she an elf? Did she have blonde hair and a tattoo on her face—around her eyes?"

"Yes." Jowan nodded his head, "Yes, she is an elf and yes she did have the tattoo you described. She got it on a dare when she was an apprentice. Did you know her? Do you know what happened to her? Please…if you know…tell me! I've been trying and trying and can't find out anything! Maybe they sent her to Aenor—the Chantry prison for mages and priests."

"I think I might know." Evelyn sighed as she addressed not just the imprisoned mage, but the others in her party. "Just before Arl Howe's attack on my home, I had a dream. I'm sorry, Jowan…" The young Warden looked kindly on the man standing behind the jail bars, "…in my dream, I saw a young elf fitting her description…she was about my age. She was surrounded by mages and templars and they were all chanting something in a low and solemn voice. Then one of the mages and one of the templars—I think they must be Irving and Gregoir—approached her. Irving looked kind of sad…Gregoir, on the other hand, had this grim look on his face. They each uttered some words and then placed their hands on her forehead. She cried out once and then…nothing. Then another templar. This one a young man with a sad look on his face..."

"That was probably Cullen." Jowan noted somberly. "He and Alara were…close. Gregoir and Irving might well have insisted on him being there as a punishment both to him and her."

"I don't know." Evelyn shrugged her shoulders. "Anyway, he approached her with a branding iron. Gregoir and Irving again uttered some words and this Cullen branded her forehead…"

"They…" Jowan choked, "They made Alara Tranquil. They did to her what they had planned to do to me!"

"They cut off her connection to the Fade." Morrigan explained, the disgust on her face obvious.

"They probably did it because she aided a blood mage." Alistair replied, offering a weak defense.

"But she didn't know I was a blood mage at the time!" Jowan protested, "I didn't think anyone knew! But Irving knew and so did Gregoir. Why didn't they just come and get me? Why did they set a trap for her?"

"They were probably looking to catch other blood mages." Alistair sighed. Turning to Alara, he gave his fellow Warden an apologetic look, "I don't condone what they did…"

"I'm glad you don't." Evelyn snapped back, her lips drawn taut.

"But the danger that blood magic creates…" Alistair began only to be cut off by Morrigan.

"You do realize that the Wardens utilize blood magic—do you not? Whatever it takes." The apostate concluded.

"That might be the Warden's creed." Evelyn announced, "But that's not the way I'm going to do things." Turning her attention back to Jowan, Evelyn continued her interrogation, "Ok…once again…who ordered you to poison Arl Eamon?"

"Teyrn…I mean King…Loghain." Jowan answered back. "He said he would give the Circle more freedom and that the charges against me and Lily would be dismissed."

"Again calling himself King." Alistair grumbled only to once again be hushed by Evelyn.

"So…you poisoned the Arl. What caused the undead to rise here?" Evelyn inquired, "Surely not your poisoning of the arl."

"No." Jowan shook his head. "The arl's son…Connor…he possesses magical aptitude."

"Then he should have been taken to the Circle." Leliana observed.

"His mother didn't want to do that." Jowan replied. "Part of the reason…" He explained, "…was that she didn't want to let him go."

"Understandable for a mother to feel that way." Evelyn observed.

"But the other reason…" Jowan continued, "…was that she comes from a very pious and status conscious Orlesian family. She did not like the idea of the other noble families in Ferelden and Orlais thinking her family or the Guerrins were magically tainted."

"And now we hear the real reason." Morrigan tartly commented.

"Did Arl Eamon know about his son?" Leliana asked.

"No…at least he never spoke to me about it." Jowan replied.

"I'm sure he didn't." Alistair declared, coming to the aid of the man who had consigned him to a monastery as a boy.

"I'm sorry, Alistair." Evelyn shook her head. "But he had to have known. He would have been consulted about the hiring of Jowan and he would have spoken with him. Added to that…" Evelyn tapped her index finger against her chin, "…he didn't seem to do a very thorough background check on our mage here. Even the most cursory of investigations would have revealed Jowan as an apostate. Now…why would the arl of an important arling such as Redcliffe and belonging to one of the most prestigious families of Ferelden hire on a court mage without doing the most basic of reference checks?"

"He wouldn't want anyone to know he was hiring that mage." Leliana knowingly nodded her head. "You're right, Evelyn. He would have to have known about Connor having magic ability and Jowan being an apostate."

"So…" Evelyn queried, turning her attention back to Jowan. "Although, I've got a sinking feeling I know what your answer's going to be…tell me anyway. Exactly when did the undead begin to rise?"

"Almost immediately after Arl Eamon took ill." Jowan replied. "The arlessa thought I had brought about the attacks. So…she had me tortured. The tortures grew worse as I kept denying that I was causing the attacks."

"Then, it must be the boy." Sten concluded.

"I think so." Jowan nodded his head in agreement. "He might have made a deal with a demon for his father's life."

Sighing, Evelyn shook her head, "As if this couldn't get any worse. So…what do we do with you?"

"I know I don't deserve it." Jowan pleaded, "But if you give me the chance, I'd like to do something to make up…to atone…for what I have done."

"Like what?" Evelyn asked.

"I don't know." Jowan honestly replied, "But I'd like to help out in some way or another."

"Kill him." Alistair flatly declared. "He poisoned the arl and is at least partly responsible for what has happened here."

"No!" Leliana shook her head, "Can't you see that he wants to atone. Shouldn't he be allowed the opportunity to make up for what he has done."

Sensing that there was more to Leliana's entreaty than just a plea for mercy, Evelyn thought on the bard's words as well as her fellow Grey Warden's.

"Tis criminal to keep him caged up like this." Morrigan observed. "Free him or kill him—either way he would be released."

"This comes from not controlling your mages properly." Sten primly observed. "Do with him as you wish."

"Come with us, Jowan." Evelyn commanded. "Perhaps we can find a way for you to make up for what you have done."

As Jowan began to object to Evelyn's command, the Grey Warden cut him off, "Jowan! I'm offering you an opportunity here. If you insist on not going with us, then you'll either have to stay here locked up or I'll have to let Alistair have his way. I'd prefer that you accompany us. That way, you could perform some good. But—the choice is yours."

"Very well." The mage reluctantly agreed. "As I seem to have no choice, I shall accompany you."

"Good choice." Evelyn replied. "Now…" She commanded as she unlocked the door to Jowan's cell. "Let's get moving."

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"All right." Alistair quipped as the party, now accompanied by Ser Perth and his knights, neared the doors to the main hall of Redcliffe castle. "Why haven't you gone all glowy yet?"

"I almost have on more than one occasion." Evelyn replied. "Nearly let it happen in that fight against the revenant, but you managed to finish it off before I had to do it." Pausing for a moment, she explained, "I don't want to do it unless I absolutely have to. Besides being rough on my clothing, the fewer people who know—the better."

"I guess I can see that." Alistair nodded his head. "I'm still not sure myself…"

"Well…" Evelyn snapped, "You need to get sure. I need people with me who trust me and who I can trust. If you don't fall into either of those categories, better we go our separate ways now."

"I trust you!" Alistair protested, "And you can trust me. It's just that it's all so very…"

"New and more than a little frightening?" Evelyn interrupted, softening her voice tone, "Yeah…I know. If it's any relief to you, I feel the same." Reaching the oaken double doors, Evelyn took a deep breath, "Well…ready to meet whatever's on the other side?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Alistair responded, hefting sword and shield.

"Then…" Evelyn commanded as she opened the doors with a flourish, "Let's do it."

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Directing most of her ire at the recovering Teagan and Isolde standing next to him, Evelyn practically screamed at the nobles, "Idiots!" As Isolde took a breath to object, Evelyn hushed her with a glare, "Shut up! Not a Maker damned word out of you! Take a look around. See those men and women…" She made a sweeping gesture with her arms, pointing to the wounded being treated and the dead carried away. "You're responsible for this."

"No!" Isolde cried out, "It was the demon possessing Connor."

"No—it was you. You, Eamon, and Teagan. All three of you knew Connor was a mage and instead of sending him to the Circle where he could get the training he needed, you sent out for an apostate mage who just happened to be a wanted blood mage hired by Loghain to poison the arl. Smart thinking!" Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Now we have to clean up the mess."

"What is he doing here?" Isolde exclaimed, pointing at Jowan. "He was locked in the dungeon."

"We found him in the cell where you put him after you had him tortured." Evelyn answered back, glaring daggers at the arlessa. "He's here helping to clean up the mess. Now—shut up and let's hear what he has to say." Turning to the formerly imprisoned mage, Evelyn asked, "Jowan—you do know how to fix this—don't you?"

"There is only one logical solution." Sten interrupted.

"No!" Evelyn responded in a sharp voice. "No way am I going to be responsible for the murder of a child. Not going to happen—not on my watch."

"He's not a child anymore." Teagan countered, "He's been possessed. He's an abomination."

"He's my child!" Isolde cried out, "Please…don't!"

"We're not." Evelyn answered back, silencing all opposition with a glare. Turning to Jowan, she again asked, "Tell me you have a solution."

"Yes." The blood mage replied, "But you won't like it."

"No surprise there." Evelyn replied. "I haven't liked anything about this caper yet. So…lay it on me."

"What?" Jowan started, not understanding what Evelyn was saying.

Sighing, Evelyn rephrased her request, "Tell me what your plan is."

"Very well." Jowan took a deep breath. "It involves sending a mage into the Fade to persuade or force the demon possessing Connor to leave him. But…" The mage cautioned, "…there is a…sacrifice…involved. A great deal of life force in the form of blood is required to power the ritual."

"How much blood are we talking?" Evelyn asked, dreading the answer.

"A lot…all of it, I'm afraid." Jowan answered. "Someone will have to sacrifice their life in order to send a mage into the Fade."

"Let it be me." Isolde interjected, stepping forward to volunteer. "The Warden was right. I am responsible for what happened here. If I can free my son and at the same time atone for my actions, then I will gladly do so."

"No." Alistair shook his head. "There has to be another way."

"There must be an alternative." Leliana remarked, pleading with her eyes to Evelyn.

"The Circle." Alistair cried out. "Surely the mages at the Circle would know."

"It would take too long for help to arrive from there." Teagan shook his head dejectedly. "What if there's a delay and the demon possessing Connor should decide to again take over?"

"There is another solution." Evelyn took a deep breath. "I can go into the Fade and I can do it without a blood sacrifice or lyrium."

"You're no mage." Jowan looked askance at the young Warden. "How can you enter the Fade?"

"I can." Evelyn answered back, looking the blood mage square in the eyes. "And no one will have to die for me to do it."

"What is involved in this?" Jowan inquired, his curiosity aroused, "There has to be a magical component."

"There is." Evelyn admitted. "A mage told me about it. It normally does require a mage to carry it out, but a non-mage possessing certain…abilities…can do it."

"What sort of abilities?" Teagan inquired.

"I don't have time to explain now." Evelyn replied as she signaled for Sten to escort the two nobles and Jowan out of the chamber. "Right now, I have to go get Connor. Go with Sten, he'll see to it you're safe. Jowan…go with them."

"How do you intend to accomplish this task?" Teagan further inquired, "You say it involves no blood magic or lyrium—yet normally a mage carries out the ritual. What is this rite?"

"Explanations can wait." Evelyn curtly replied. "If you want Connor back, you need to do as I say now."

"What?!" An astounded Isolde gasped only to be silenced by Morrigan.

"Be silent now." The witch glared, "She can do as she says. As to whether she succeeds or not—that is another question."

Taking a deep breath, as Sten all but shoved the two nobles out of the chamber, Evelyn stripping off her clothing, transformed into her powered form and said the words that Doctor Strange had taught her, "May the All Seeing Eye of Agamotto guide me to where I must go. Take me to Connor and the demon possessing him." As a portal opened, Evelyn turned to Alistair and issued her orders, "I'm counting on you, Alistair. Give me the time I need to do what I have to do, but, if I fail, then you're going to have to be the one to lead the others. You can do it—just believe in yourself."

"All right, Evelyn.' The ex-templar sighed, "I'll do it. But please…come back."

"That's the plan." Evelyn smirked and then took a deep breath, "Time to do this."

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Crossing the portal, Evelyn remembered what Dr. Strange had told her not so long ago in a conversation in the astral plane at his Sanctum Sanctorum.

"_Remember, Evelyn, if you are killed in the astral plane, there is a strong probability that your physical body might die as well."_

"_I noticed that I could use my powers and abilities here as well as in the real world."_

"_Yes, you can. Also, depending on how your powers work and other factors, your powers might be more or less effective here in the astral plane. But be warned…" _He cautioned, _"…your weaknesses could also be magnified." _

"_So…in other words, in some ways I might be stronger, but in other ways weaker?"_

"_Precisely. Best to always be on your guard."_

"What are you? Where is my son?" A demanding voice called out to her.

Recognizing immediately the facial features of Arl Eamon, Evelyn replied, "I'm a friend. I'm here to find Connor and rescue him and you."

"You do not look human." Eamon answered back in a harsh voice, "Why should I trust you?"

"Because you don't have a choice." Evelyn replied, "I'm here to save your son and hopefully help get you out of this mess that you helped to create. Best thing for you to do is to just stay where you are and try not to make things worse. If I succeed, this nightmare will hopefully be over soon." She then took off in flight, cruising through the astral plane until she spotted what had to be the dream form of Connor standing in a facsimile of his room.

"You do not belong here. Leave this place now!" The possessed Connor demanded as Evelyn set down. "A fair bargain was reached. It is not for you to try to break it."

"I'm not going to just let you have this boy." Evelyn responded as light lanced from her hand, immediately dispelling the demon. "That was too easy." Evelyn said as she let out a breath. "I have a feeling it'll get rougher."

The way did prove more difficult for the superhero as she wended her way through the Fade, encountering demons and spirits until she reached her final goal—the desire demon who had taken possession of Connor's soul. Steeling herself for the final confrontation, Evelyn approached.

"If you're smart, demon, you'll get out of here now." Evelyn demanded as she landed in front of the demon

"You have no business here outsider." The demon responded. "This is my domain. But…we should not be so quick to fight. You are powerful—but so am I." The demon's lips then turned up in a lascivious grin, "Why don't we talk first. Surely there is some mutual accommodation that can be reached?"

"I don't think so." Evelyn answered back as she let loose with a light barrage, temporarily stunning the demon.

The demon recovered quickly though, freezing Evelyn. "Ah…a weakness." The desire demon purred as it readied its next spell, one that tore at the very fiber of Evelyn's being. Fighting the numbing cold and the tendrils pulling at her soul, Evelyn felt her strength literally sapping away. Feeling her life force ebbing away, Evelyn steeled herself for one final effort. Her body radiating hear and light, she felt the ice cocoon sealing her begin to melt. Concentrating, Evelyn put everything she had into one final effort, crying out as her cage shattered, the brilliant light emanating from her dispelling the dark force tendrils. Glaring at the now frightened desire demon, Evelyn cut loose with a stream of light missiles, shredding the evil spirit. As the last slivers of the demon slowly disappeared, Evelyn felt the tug of wakefulness.

Awakening, the young Warden looked to Alistair, "Did it work? Is Connor free?"

"Yes." Her fellow Grey Warden smiled. "He appears to be free of the demon's taint and is now resting. Whatever you did—it worked"

"Good." Evelyn replied in a weak voice. "Sleep now…for real this time."

"Rest easy, my friend…" Evelyn heard Leliana's soft voice, "You have earned it."

_Sorry for the delay, but, as you can see, this was a long chapter and the next one might be just as long. I'm not going to go through all the quests in DA:O, just the ones that I think are most important for Evelyn's story. Next up will be the Circle where you'll see even more Marvel heroes making their appearance as Evelyn begins to find a few who strike a chord with her. Evelyn's journey is just beginning—I hope you all enjoy the ride._


	8. Chapter 8

_Sorry about the delay, but this is a BIG part where the Marvel heroes make their appearance. As for where we are in Marvel continuity: The Marvel characters are not from 616, but are rather more representations of game characters with canon playing a big part. For purposes of this story, Marvel canon ends where Marvel Ultimate Alliance begins, so no Civil War as yet. Hope everyone enjoys the story!_

Infinity's Child

Part 8

"Based on what you've told me, I'd say that you made the correct decisions." Dr. Strange said as his astral form sat cross-legged, hovering levitated across from where the astral form of Evelyn sat, reclined. "You were right in not making a deal with the demon." The Sorcerer Supreme declared as he continued his evaluation, "Such arrangements usually end poorly for the person making the deal."

"That's what I thought." Evelyn replied, nodding her head in agreement. "So…can anything be done about that poor girl?"

"The one you told me about?" The mage furrowed his brow, "The young elf woman?" As Evelyn nodded her head, Strange's astral form seemed to heave a sigh, "Unfortunately, I don't think there is anything I can do without being able to actually see and evaluate her on the physical plane."

"Yeah." A dejected Evelyn scowled, "That's what I thought. Still, didn't hurt to ask."

"No, it didn't." Dr. Strange replied, "Do you remember anything more about the ritual? The words used in the incantation? What sort of glyphs were drawn? Anything like that could help."

"I'm sorry, I don't." Evelyn shook her head. "I could ask Jowan, but I don't think there's much more he could offer that would help." Seeing the questioning look on the Sorcerer Supreme's face, Evelyn further explained, "Apparently, the templars and the Circle keep the Ritual of Tranquility a closely guarded secret."

"That would make sense." Strange nodded his head knowingly, "It's too effective a means of control to let too many people know how it works—the more people who know, the higher the probability of a counter being developed."

"Right." Evelyn nodded her head. "We're off to the Circle next after finishing things up here at Redcliffe, so I'm hoping to get answers there—even if I have to tear the place down around me."

Chuckling, Stephen quipped, "You remind me of a few people I know who I think you'd like if you met them—and…" He added thoughtfully, "I think they'd like you." His laughter fading, the mage grew serious once again, "Proceed carefully, Evelyn. If there is a rip in the Veil between the astral plane and reality at this Circle, all sorts of entities could come out—and far more dangerous than the relatively minor demons you've been dealing with so far."

"Thanks for the advice, Doctor. Evelyn jibed, "I'm not looking forward to tangling with more demons."

"A wise attitude, young lady." Strange quipped back, his lips once again turning up in a smile, "But I have a feeling something else is bothering you even more."

"A couple of things, actually." Evelyn confessed. "First thing is leaving things unfinished in Redcliffe."

"Well…from what you've told me…" The older man replied sympathetically, "There's not a whole lot more you could do."

"True. I think I've done everything I could…but…" Evelyn shook her head as she changed the subject, "So…Doctor…what do you think? About the Urn of Sacred Ashes, I mean. I know you're not a follower of the Maker or Andraste, but do you think the Ashes—if they really exist—do you think they could help heal Arl Eamon." Sighing, the young Warden shook her head, "Much as I don't like the man or what he's done to date, we do need him if we're going to get things settled between Loghain and the nobles and get everyone on board against the real threat."

"The Blight." The Sorcerer Supreme nodded his head. "I understand. As for these ashes—it's not outside the realm of possibility that, assuming they exist, they do possess healing traits. The power of belief is a force to be reckoned with in and of itself. But I also know of many mystical cures—these ashes could well be one of them. If they are—then be careful in your quest for them. Such items tend to be well guarded and the guards usually not willing to negotiate or part with the item they've been charged with protecting.

"Yeah." Evelyn nodded her head as she agreed with a wry voice, "That's the impression I'm getting too."

"So…what else is bothering you?" Stephen inquired.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Evelyn replied, "There's also the matter of Jowan."

"The blood mage?" Dr. Strange interjected.

"Right." Evelyn nodded her head. "He needs to stand trial for what he did…" Seeing Dr. Strange's concurring nod of the head, she continued, "…but I'm not sure what to do…"

"Are there any authorities you trust that you can turn him over to?" The Sorcerer Supreme asked.

Letting out a breath of air, Evelyn replied, "Not really. Denerim's a mess right now and besides, Loghain was the one who sent him to poison the arl. Isolde, the arlessa, had tortured him while he was in her custody and Teagan did nothing to stop the torture."

"And turning him over to your Circle might well mean his execution or Tranquility." The doctor concluded.

"Exactly." Evelyn drew her lips into a thin line. "The problem is…I can't keep him as a prisoner on the move as I am. And I am not going to just kill him out of hand. He deserves a fair trial."

"Agreed, absolutely." Doctor Strange nodded his head vehemently, "So…" He then asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Lothering's out." Evelyn shook her head, "If the darkspawn haven't already sacked the village, they will soon. The Circle's out until I at least get an idea on what's going on there. Denerim's out because of the civil war. So…that leaves Redcliffe. I'm going to put Jowan in the custody of Murdock—the mayor, and make sure that Murdock, Teagan, and Isolde understand that they are all personally answerable to me if anything happens to Jowan without him receiving a proper trial with me present and that I or someone representing me will check in at frequent and random intervals to ensure his safety and proper treatment. Hopefully…" Evelyn sighed, "That will at least buy me some time to set up better arrangements."

"That's probably the best you can hope to do for now." Doctor Strange agreed, smiling, "Is there anything else you'd like to talk about?"

"Yes." Evelyn smiled, "I want you to tell me everything you can about your world. I want to know about the tall buildings, the carts without horses, the metal monsters that fly through the air and carry people, the devices people speak into and touch all the time, and more than anything else—I want you to tell me about all the marvels that are in your world—the Iron Man, the Spider Man, the storm bringer with his hammer, the green-skinned giant, the red, white, and blue man with a shield—everyone and everything."

Laughing, Doctor Strange replied, "That will take time and many nights together, but we can get started now…"

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"Wake up, Evelyn."

"Time to get up sleepy-head!"

Hearing the voices urging her to arise, Evelyn reluctantly stirred herself from her slumber. Sitting up in bed, the young Warden immediately noticed both Alistair and Leliana sitting on the edge of her bed, looking at her with concern.

"Are you all right, Evelyn?" Alistair asked, the concern in his voice obvious.

"We've tried for several minutes to awaken you." Leliana explained, her voice also edged with concern. "We were getting worried."

"I'm fine." Evelyn smiled, "I've just been having a terrific conversation with Doctor Strange in the astral plane."

Shaking his head, Alistair let out a deep breath, "I don't even want to ask—do I?"

"Probably not." Evelyn smirked as she addressed her two friends, "Be a pair of dears and do a favor for me? While I'm getting dressed, get everyone into the main hall. Time to get things sorted out here and then move on out to the Circle." Her smile vanishing, the young Warden remarked in a grim voice, "I have a feeling we're not going to like what we're going to see there."

"I fear you are right." Alistair replied as he and Leliana left to do their friend's bidding.

"We'll see you in the main hall." Leliana said over her shoulder as she exited the room.

"Right." Evelyn sighed as she slipped on her loin cloth and top. "Time to get this over with."

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"Even though Connor appears free of the demon…" Teagan announced as he stood in front of Eamon's seat on the dais, "My brother is still ill. If we are to offer an effective challenge to Loghain's usurpation, we will need Eamon."

"The Urn of Sacred Ashes can cure him." Isolde declared, "I am sure of it."

Ignoring Sten and Morrigan's snorts of derision, Evelyn inquired, "I remember Ser Donal saying that you had sent knights looking for the Urn and that Brother Genetivi might have more information, but have any other knights returned?"

"Only those that are here now." Teagan replied. "Ser Donal's information is the most current. More answers might lie with Brother Genetivi…"

"And that will necessitate a trip to Denerim." Evelyn shook her head. "Going to be difficult in the middle of a civil war with a price on our heads."

"But we have no choice." Alistair pointed out, "We must have Arl Eamon's backing in order to go up against Loghain."

"Alistair is right." Teagan nodded his head. "The other nobles will not listen to me—at least not enough to sway the Landsmeet. But…they will listen to Eamon."

"I think I might be able to get us into Denerim." Leliana volunteered, further explaining, "There are ways in and out of the city—if you don't mind getting dirty."

"Sounds good…" Evelyn replied as Teagan cleared his throat.

"Now…about the mage…"

"I thought I made it clear what I want done with Jowan." Evelyn declared in an even tone. "He's to be placed in Murdock's custody until he can receive a proper and fair trial—and I would prefer a presiding judge who is not a Guerrin. Sorry, Teagan…" Evelyn said, "…but you and the arl are too close to events to render a fair judgment. Let it be a bann or teyrn from another house or the new king—whoever he may be."

"Fair enough." Teagan acknowledged with a nod of his head. "And if the decision of that judge is to have him executed?"

"Then…" Evelyn sighed, "That's the sentence. Much as I might hate to see anyone executed, at least he would have received a fair trial."

"Very good, then." Teagan nodded his head again, "We will turn the mage over to Murdock who will hold him in custody until his trial."

"Thank you." Evelyn smiled gratefully, "And I and my friends shall search for the Sacred Ashes and if they can be found, bring them back for the arl."

"May the Maker guide your path." Teagan announced as the audience ended.

As they walked away, Alistair remarked in a jovial voice, "Well…that went better than I thought."

"At least that's over and done with." Evelyn agreed, "Now…it's off to the Circle and whatever awaits us there."

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"Yes!" Baron Mordo cried out triumphantly as he read through the arcane text on his desk. "This should do nicely." Carefully taking the book, The sorcerer placed it, open to the page he had just read, on a podium in the center of a circle within which he had inscribed an elaborate glyph. Walking around the circle, Mordo lit thirteen red candles. Returning to the center, Mordo lit the last candle, a white candle. Returning to the podium, the sorcerer carefully read the incantation, making sure that his diction was clear and that every word was correctly pronounced.

"_Dominus Deus aperuit ianuam Chaos admittere servus tuus. _Mighty Lord Chaos, open a gate to admit your humble servant."

The candle lights dimmed momentarily, and then, in the center of the circle where the white candle stood, there was now a black disk. His lips turned up in a cruel grin, Baron Mordo confidently walked to the center of the disk and disappeared.

The arcane energies released by the Baron's magic did not go unnoticed. From his Greenwich Village brownstone mansion at 177A Bleeker Street, Doctor Strange, who at that moment was also reading from a massive tome, looked up in alarm. Immediately suspecting what his long-time adversary had just done, the Sorcerer Supreme called out to his loyal manservant.

"Wong! I need you to send out a call for assistance. I will be in my study. I must confirm what I have just felt. If I am correct, then we might have a serious problem on our hands."

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_Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum_

"Thanks for coming, everyone." Dr. Strange said as his costumed guests entered the spacious living room in his Greenwich Village brownstone mansion. "A situation has come up where I could use some help."

"What's the situation, Doctor?" Captain America asked as he led the parade of heroes into the Doctor's Sanctum Sanctorum.

"I got your message and came right over, Stephen." Ms. Marvel said, brushing aside a strand of blonde hair as she took a seat on the couch.

"Glad to help, Doc." Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye grinned as he lounged on the couch next to Ms. Marvel.

"Whatever you need." Sue Richards, the Invisible Woman, declared, "We're here to help."

"Thank you." Doctor Strange smiled at his friends and teammates. "It is indeed a serious problem. I have just recently discovered that Baron Mordo has opened a doorway to a pocket dimension." The Sorcerer Supreme explained. "I fear he could set forces at work that might have a negative impact on at least two realities: our own and another one that I have recently become aware of."

"Would this be the dimension where this person who you talked to Reed about lives?" Susan asked.

"Yes." Strange nodded his head. "For those who don't know, her name is Evelyn and she faces a rather interesting situation. She belongs to a group on her world, Thedas, called the Grey Wardens. This group was formed to combat a great evil called the Blight and has done so for hundreds of years. The problem is—to join that group, the members have to undergo a ritual called the Joining where they ingest some of the infected blood of the entities they combat."

"Something smells awful fishy there, Doctor." Captain America declared.

"It does." Stephen nodded his head, "Compounding the problem is the fact that this order does not tell its potential members—oftentimes conscripts—about what's involved until just as the ritual begins and there is no turning back once you commit to the Order."

"You mean…" Captain America began.

"Correct, Cap." Stephen nodded his head, "It's either join or die. Evelyn saw one reluctant member who tried to back out killed before her very eyes."

"This doesn't sound like a legit order." Hawkeye observed.

"This Blight they fight is apparently much worse." Doctor Strange observed. "Evelyn's true mother has informed me that there are entire alternate Thedas that were overrun by these…darkspawn…because they weren't stopped. These worlds are all lifeless husks now." The Sorcerer Supreme concluded.

"You mentioned her 'true mother'?" Carol interjected.

"Yes. She was adopted by a human family, but Evelyn is actually the offspring of a hero from yet another dimension who was her father, while her real mother was an avatar of the cosmic entity known as Infinity…"

"Talk about your mixed heritages." Hawkeye shook his head in sympathy for the young woman he had not yet met.

"Just so." Dr. Strange nodded his head. "Apparently, though, her adoptive parents were a good sort—from a rather prestigious noble family and from what I've seen of her, they've done a good job raising her. Her original parents sent her to her earth, called Thedas, as an infant to escape a potentially universe ending cataclysm."

"Like our Infinity War?" Carol inquired.

"Probably that universe's version of it." Doctor Strange agreed, "Or a similar crisis."

"So, how does Mordo tie into everything?" Sue inquired.

"Mordo has apparently found something there that he could turn to his advantage..." Dr. Strange began.

"Which probably means that it would not be good for anyone else." Captain America at once declared.

"So…what's the game plan?" Hawkeye inquired.

"I can cast a locator spell to home in on Baron Mordo's location." Dr. Strange replied, "And then open a portal to him. However…I'll have to stay at the portal location in the astral plane to keep it open."

"In other words." Hawkeye remarked, "We're gonna be the grunts who have to take down Mordo and who knows what else?"

"That's right." The Sorcerer Supreme nodded his head. "I'll need you all to take point in stopping whatever Mordo has planned, but don't think that I'll be idle while you're on the front lines. The Baron will undoubtedly soon discover that I'm at the portal. I suspect that things will get very lively for me then."

"What about this woman—Evelyn?" Hawkeye inquired.

"Help her if you can." Doctor Strange replied, "I think she can be a great help for us and vice versa. Besides…" He smirked, "I took the liberty of telling her about you all during some of our astral chats and she's looking forward to meeting you. I think you'll find her a kindred spirit."

"I remember you telling me that she has a problem with her powers burning off her clothing." Carol remarked as Susan nodded her head in agreement.

"Reed thinks her powers might be plasma or super-excited photonic in nature, although they also bear some resemblance to Dagger's light powers." Sue interjected, "That would cause her clothes—especially clothing made of natural materials—to burn off when she powers up—sort of like Johnny or Frankie."

Speaking up, Ms. Marvel volunteered as she presented a small bundled package. "I brought something that might help with that. Clint? Can I get you to keep this for me until I can hopefully give it to Stephen's friend? My costume doesn't have much in the way of pockets."

"Sure thing, Carol." Hawkeye replied as he placed the package in a pouch on his belt.

"So…what do we need to do, Stephen?" Sue inquired.

"Get ready while I cast the locator spell." Dr. Strange replied. Taking a deep breath, the Sorcerer Supreme recited the incantation as he stood before a large mirror, "All-Seeing Eye of Agamotto, I entreat you to lead us to the one we seek…" Moments later, the lights in the room dimmed momentarily as an orb moved into the Doctor's private study. Taking the hint, Stephen followed the orb, allowing it to lead him to a book. Opening the book, the master of the arcane immediately spotted the incantation used by his long-time foe.

"I've found it." Dr. Strange announced, "Come with me and I will open the portal."

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_Thedas—The Circle Tower Harrowing Chamber_

Emerging from the portal, Baron Mordo smirked as a bald headed man regarded him with a look of contempt. "Ah…another reveler." The bald man smirked, "Would you care to join us in our revels?"

Dissolving two of the abominations attempting to flank him with a mere wave of his hand, Mordo snorted derisively, "I would speak with the puppeteer, not the puppet."

Transforming into a pride demon, the being formerly known as Uldred spoke, "Most perceptive little mage. You may speak you peace."

Chuckling, Mordo replied, "I give you a choice, demon. You may work with me and we shall both gain our desires…"

"Or…"

"Or…" Baron Mordo grinned as he cast his spell, binding the pride demon in ever tightening bonds, "…I destroy you and take what I want." Laughing out loud, the sorcerer announced, "Those are Bonds of Cyttorak. The more you struggle against them, the tighter they become until they suffocate even one such as you. I offer an…alliance. The decision to accept or reject is yours, but were I you, I would decide quickly as regardless of whether you struggle or not, the bonds will tighten."

"Very well." The pride demon responded, bowing down to Mordo's superior magic, "I…agree."

"Very wise." Mordo smirked as he released the demon from its bonds. "Now…let us get to work."

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"Leliana?" Evelyn called out to her companion sitting in front of her tent tuning her lute. Can you come here for a moment?"

"Sure, Evelyn." Leliana replied as she walked to where the red-headed Warden was sitting roasting a piece of meat. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Evelyn replied, "How are you doing? We haven't had the chance to talk too much since we got to Redcliffe and I was wondering how are you…"

"Coping with life outside the Chantry or with your changes?" Leliana replied with a nervous laugh.

"A little bit of both, actually." Evelyn responded with a shaky grin. "Look…you don't have to talk if you don't want to, but I really…"

"It's all right, Evelyn.' Leliana smiled. "What do you want to know first?"

"You choose." Evelyn smiled back, "And make yourself comfortable. I have a feeling we're going to be here awhile."

"Why don't I start with my time in the Chantry…" Leliana began her narrative, "I found myself in Lothering after a situation…" Seeing that her companion was not at this time willing to discuss, for now at least, the situation she had mentioned, Evelyn gestured for her to continue, "…and found succor in the arms of the Chantry."

"So…" Evelyn remarked, "You were seeking a safe port in a storm."

Nodding her head, Leliana affirmed, "Yes. But…I ended up finding much more. My time in solitude gave me an opportunity to reflect—to evaluate—who I was and who and what I could be."

"I know what you mean." Evelyn nodded her head sympathetically, "In some ways, I think I'm going through a similar process now. But we're not talking about me. Go on…"

"I learned much about myself…" Leliana smiled modestly, "And about the Maker and His love for everything and everyone in his creation."

Genuinely curious, Evelyn inquired, "What did you learn?"

"I believe that the Maker is everywhere." Leliana declared, further explaining, "He is in the trees and in all of the animals, in the rocks and soil, and…in each and every one of us."

"In other words…" Evelyn began only to be cut off by the bard.

"The Maker touches every one of us and all of His creation." Leliana declared, "Far from not caring as some within the Chantry would have us believe, He does care—very much—and wants us to be reconciled to him." Laughing nervously, the bard sighed, "I guess this sounds all very stupid to you."

"Not really." Evelyn shook her head, smiling warmly at the woman sitting across from her. "To be honest, I like your view of the Maker far more than Mother Mallol and the Chantry's."

"Thank you." Leliana laughed nervously, "But tell me…if I might ask…do you believe in the Maker after…"

"After everything that's happened to me?" Evelyn chuckled. "The Maker does exist. I know that. Mom…I guess you could call Apeiria my mother—although I'd use the term loosely…and Stephen confirmed that the Maker is real." Seeing Leliana's sigh of relief on hearing that news, Evelyn was unsure as to whether to proceed or not. "But I also know that he is but one of many cosmic entities—and—I'm sorry, Leliana—he's by no means the most powerful of them. From what little I've seen, the cosmic realm is one of both wonders and terrors and often it can be hard to tell which is which. Even my…mother…can be pretty frightening."

"It seems so much." Leliana gasped.

"You have no idea, Leliana." Evelyn smiled, "It's so daunting…so beautiful…and so scary. Beings that can shake Thedas to its core and that can then breathe life to a dead world. Men and women who can read your deepest thoughts. Races that control empires of worlds—the Kree and Skrull and Shi'ar. And that's just the tip of the iceberg…" Laughing gently at the confused look on Leliana's face, Evelyn explained, "An expression I heard Stephen use. It means that's just the smallest part that I could see—there's so much more."

"But…" Leliana countered, "Couldn't the Maker have been the One who made all of that?"

Smiling warmly, Evelyn decided to humor her companion, "I guess, in a way you could say that." Seeing the sigh of relief on the young bard's face, Evelyn ventured, "I guess you could say that the One Above All is the Maker—He's just called by a different name by those living in the other universes."

"That makes sense." Leliana, pleased at Evelyn's answer, nodded her head. "Thank you, Evelyn."

"So…" Evelyn inquired as she gazed into the eyes of her companion, "Are you more comfortable with me now?"

"Yes." Leliana responded, "It's still all rather…"

"Confusing? Mind-altering?" Evelyn interjected.

"Yes." Leliana chuckled, "Both of those and a few other words."

"That's all right, Leliana." Evelyn laughed, "I'm just as confused and mind-blown as you." Her laughter diminishing, she then announced, "I've decided what to do about the Circle and Denerim. I need you to go with Sten and Morrigan to Denerim. Scout out the city and see if you can find a place for us to hide out while we're there." Evelyn requested and then continued, "I'll take Alistair and Izzy with me to the Circle."

"Are you sure you won't need us at the Circle?" Leliana asked, adding, "While Alistair and Izzy are most competent, something could arise…"

"Morrigan's an apostate." Evelyn shook her head, " I can't risk taking her anywhere near the Circle and its templars. You know how Morrigan is…she's just as liable as not to get us into a fight with the templars…the mages…or both." As the two rogues shared a laugh, Evelyn continued, "We need them as allies, not enemies and Morrigan is just too combustible to throw into the mix." Placing her hand on the bard's shoulder, Evelyn continued, "And while I would love to have you at the Circle with me, I'm going to need you more in Denerim. We need to know what Loghain is up to there and I have a feeling that you're the person best suited to finding out."

"Very well." Leliana sighed and then asked, her voice touched with concern, "Are you going to be all right? What if you…"

"In other words, is there a chance I might start glowing in front of the Knight Commander and First Enchanter?" Evelyn laughed nervously, "I think I'll be ok. I've gotten better at controlling my changes—if for no other reason than to avoid burning all my clothes!"

"I thought Morrigan and Sandal were going to enchant your clothing?" Leliana observed.

Shaking her head, Evelyn replied, "Didn't work. Doctor Strange said during one of our talks that his friend told him that it was because my powers weren't really derived from the primal forces of the earth. That I'd need to wear something made out of…unstable molecules…whatever those are"

"Huh?" Leliana exclaimed.

"I don't really understand myself." Evelyn chuckled. "Doesn't matter anyway. There's nothing Stephen's friend can do about it since I'm here and he's in another dimension. Although…I would like to wear something that didn't burn off of me—I'm tired of putting on a show for Alistair and Sten every time I want to fly or I have to use my powers. Well…" Evelyn grinned as she got up and walked away, "I need to talk to Alistair. Nice talking to you, Leliana!"

Her face reddening, Leliana whispered under her breath once she was sure her friend could not hear her, "It's not just those two who enjoy the show."

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"Here we are…" Alistair grumbled as he, Evelyn, and Izzy stood before a giant oaken double door. "The Circle Tower. So…who's going to do the honors? You or I?"

Jerking her head towards the templar who had reluctantly rowed them over, Evelyn smirked, "Let him do it." Raising her voice, Evelyn called out, "Carroll—you're on."

"On what?" The dimwitted templar retorted.

"Gotta be the lyrium." Alistair remarked wryly.

"Be a dear and get the door will you?" Evelyn sweetly replied, "If you do, I'll give you another cookie." Smirking as the templar licked his lips, Evelyn praised him as he walked forward and rang the bell, "There's a good templar."

"That's the last of the cookies." Alistair grumbled as Carroll happily munched the sweet treat.

"We'll get more." Evelyn grinned as she led the way into the foyer of the Tower where they were met by a grizzled templar with grey hair wearing the armor of a Knight Commander flanked by two other well armored templars.

"Step no further." The Knight Commander ordered. "Identify yourselves."

"That must be Gregoir, the commander of the templars here." Alistair whispered.

"So I gathered." Evelyn whispered back. Raising her voice, she addressed the Knight Commander. "I am Evelyn Cousland of the Grey Wardens accompanied by Alistair, also of the Grey Wardens and my mabari, Izzy. We come to request the assistance of the Templars and the Circle against the Blight as per the signed treaties I bear."

They then heard Gregoir's one word command, "Approach."

As Evelyn and her companions made their way towards where the Knight Commander stood, Alistair whispered in the redhead's ear, "I can't believe you introduced your dog."

"Why not?" Evelyn replied, "Izzy's an individual and a member of our group. Gotta a problem with that?"

On hearing a low growl from the mabari walking next to him, Alistair quickly answered back, "No. No problem at all."

"Glad to hear it." Evelyn smirked as Izzy barked once. As the group neared the Knight Commander, Evelyn called out, "Gregoir?"

"Knight Commander Gregoir." One of the templars haughtily replied.

"Greetings Gregoir." Evelyn responded, ignoring the templar, "I am Evelyn Cousland of the Grey Wardens and here are the treaties in which the templars and Circle of Magi promised to aid in the event of a Blight….well…in case you were unaware, a Blight is currently in progress."

"I am well aware of the treaty's demands." An angry and frustrated Knight Commander replied, "However, you can look for no assistance from either the templars or the Circle in combatting this Blight?"

"Oh?" Evelyn answered back, raising an eyebrow, "Are you saying that the templars and the Circle intend to renege on their solemn agreement with the Wardens and the Maker?"

"No." Gregoir growled, "I am saying that neither the templars nor the Circle are able to come to the assistance of the Wardens now. We are dealing with a major crisis within the Circle at the moment—one that precludes our honoring our obligations."

The scornful expression on her face now became one of concern as Evelyn gazed into the eyes of the templar commander. She saw a face etched with weariness, worry, and yes, fear. "What has happened, Knight Commander?" A now solicitous Evelyn inquired, "Maybe I and my party can be of assistance."

Shaking his head, the Knight Commander responded in a tired and somber voice, "There is nothing anyone can do now. The Circle is lost to demons and abominations. I have sent to the Reverend Mother in Denerim asking for additional forces and for the Right of Annulment."

Turning her head to Alistair, Evelyn inquired, "Right of Annulment?"

"Things must be very bad here for the Knight Commander to feel it necessary to take that step." Alistair glumly replied, explaining, "The Right of Annulment gives the Knight Commander the right to fully exterminate the Circle of Magi."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Evelyn asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Yes." Alistair nodded his head, "All within are to be purged—down to the apprentice children."

"That will not happen." Evelyn declared as a vision of her little nephew, Oren, lying face down in a pool of his own blood flashed into her head. Turning to the Knight Commander, Evelyn's face took on a grim aspect as she quietly marshalled her power, preparing to unleash it if necessary. "I and my companions will go into the Tower and clear out any demons or abominations we encounter."

Fighting back a snort of derisive laughter, Gregoir replied, "You think you, a mere child, and this man and your mabari can go in and face what my men and myself—skilled templars and warriors all—could not? You are rash and arrogant, Child."

"I am also a Grey Warden." Evelyn bit back, "And I am going in there with Alistair and Izzy. And when we return with any survivors we can find, you will honor your treaty obligations."

Somberly shaking his head, Gregoir let out a breath of air, "Very well…if you insist on this mad course of action, I shall not stop you. But know this—once you pass those doors…" The Knight Commander gestured towards a thick, reinforced, oak double door barred and guarded by two templars, "…they shall not be reopened unless either the Tower has been fully cleansed or the First Enchanter, Irving, himself comes and tells me that the Tower is safe. If neither condition is met by the time the reinforcements have arrived from Denerim, then the Right of Annulment will be carried out and all within the Tower will be purged. Understood?"

"Clearly." Evelyn replied, "Now open those damned doors and get out of our way."

"Open the doors and permit their passage." Gregoir ordered as Evelyn and her party departed. Watching as the Grey Warden and her friends crossed the threshold and the door was closed and barred behind them, Gregoir sighed, "And may the Maker have mercy on your souls."

Hearing the heavy doors closing behind and the sound of the bars being put back in place, Alistair remarked in a half-joking voice, "Well…we're committed now."

"That we are." Evelyn replied with a grim look on her face. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled, "Well…no use postponing the inevitable."

"Might be a good time for you to…you know…" Alistair remarked as the two humans and mabari made their way down the corridor, passing the apprentice dorms as they walked.

"I'm saving it for an emergency." Evelyn replied, "Don't want to startle any…"

"Demons!" A female mage's voice cried out.

"Protect the children, Petra, Kelli, Kinnon!" An elderly voice called out.

"Evelyn?" Alistair asked as he drew his blade.

Sighing, Evelyn remarked as she changed form. "Well…there goes another set of clothes." Raising her voice, she called out as she released a light bolt at one of the abominations, immediately disintegrating it, "Get 'em!"

"You heard the lady, Izzy." Alistair smiled as he entered the fray, immediately engaging one of the abominations pressing a female apprentice as Izzy held two more abominations at bay.

Flying to the ceiling, Evelyn spotting even more abominations pouring through the collapsed barrier, let loose a series of light bolts. As she rained her fire down on the abominations and demons, the young Warden shivered as she felt herself encased by frigid cold.

"Abomination!" A female voice cried out as she again unleashed a frost spell at the stunned superhero. "The templars will soon come and cleanse us all with their Swords of Mercy."

"Sssss…tttt…ooo…ppp…you….idiot…" Evelyn pleaded as her body tried to recover from the multiple ice bolts. "I…I…I'm on your side!"

"Izzy!" Alistair, seeing his friend fading fast, called out to the mabari, "Protect your mistress!"

With an angry growl, the mabari leaped on the young mage as she readied another spell. Successfully disrupting the spellcasting, Izzy kept the mage down with a menacing growl as he bared his teeth.

"Wynne is down and so is Kelli!" Another, different female voice called out. "Kinnon…the children!"

Rushing to Evelyn's side, Alistair helped the young woman now back to her normal form, up. "Evelyn? Are you all right."

"I'll recover." The young redhead responded weakly, only to be startled by a roar of anger and rage.

"Petra!" A male voice cried out.

"The rage demon!" The auburn haired female mage responded, "I fear he's killed Wynne!"

"Then we are all lost!" The male replied despondently as a bright light filled the chamber.

Alistair gaped in astonishment as he saw four outlandishly garbed humans suddenly appear as the light faded. He then heard a shout coming from the man wearing what appeared to be red, white, and blue armor and brandishing a round shield also red, white, and blue with a white star in the middle.

"Avengers Assemble!"

The ex-templar, along with Evelyn and the mages, then gasped in astonishment as the man threw his shield, hitting an abomination before ricocheting off it to hit yet another abomination and then a third before returning to the man's outstretched hands.

"On it, Cap!" A man wearing purple and black and brandishing a bow responded as he fired several arrows simultaneously, the arrows letting out a shriek of sound that stunned several other abominations.

"I'll get the big guy, Cap!" A blonde-haired woman, wearing nothing but what seemed to be black small clothes with a lightning bolt emblazoned on the front and wearing a red sash around her waist, shouted as she took off flying, just as Evelyn would, only must faster, with her arms outstretched and her hands clenched into fists. Then, to the Grey Warden's amazement, the voluptuous woman slammed into the rage demon, literally launching the monster against the far wall.

The other blonde-haired woman, wearing what seemed to be a form-fitting, blue and black one-piece outfit, called out as she rushed towards the children, "I'll protect the kids!" She then gestured towards the children as one of the abominations attempted to swipe his claws at them, only to have its killing blow repulsed by an invisible barrier. Alistair then gasped as the abomination was lifted into the air, again by an invisible force, and then flung as if it were a mere rag doll at the far wall where it exploded into fire.

"Must be a force mage." A voice he recognized as belonging to Kinnon, one of the mages gasped as he took advantage of the strangers' intervention to quaff a lyrium potion, "They're rare, but not unheard of."

"They're the people Stephen told me about!" Evelyn cried out joyously as she also took flight. Regaining her strength and her morale, the redheaded Grey Warden added her light beams to the punches thrown by the stranger woman against the rage demon until a voice that Alistair recognized as coming from the archer called out to her.

"Hey Starfire—or whoever you are! I could use a hand over here!"

"Starfire?" Evelyn whispered as she recognized that the archer was calling for her, "I think I like that name." Raising her voice, Evelyn called back down to the man, "What do you need?"

"Those things are coming in through that door! Sue's busy trying to keep the kids and that old woman safe. Can you and your friends plug that hole up until me, Cap, and Ms. Marvel get done over here."

"Sure!" Evelyn shouted back, "Alistair, Izzy! You heard the man! Let's do it!"

"Starfire?" Alistair rolled his eyes as he and Izzy joined Evelyn who was at that moment hovering near the entrance, blasting abominations as they tried to force their way through.

"Yeah." Evelyn smirked, "Fits me, doesn't it." As Izzy barked approvingly, Evelyn discharged another series of light bolts.

"Whatever." Alistair groaned as he wielded his sword and shield, forcing the intruders back while Izzy leaped on and shredded the monsters. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, an invisible barrier appeared to block the monsters.

"I've got 'em." A female voice shouted. "Help Cap and the others. They're wrapping things up now."

As the rage demon shuddered from blow after blow from his superhuman opponent, he let out a blood curdling scream before attempting to burn his way out through a hole. Not letting him get away, Ms. Marvel grabbed the demon and flung him into the air. "Cap!" She called out, "Your turn!"

"Right!" Captain America shouted as he flung his shield, stunning the demon while in midair. Evelyn then fired a stream of light bolts that caused the demon to cry out in pain and rage. "Ice arrows should do it." Hawkeye grinned as he let loose four arrows from his bow, each of them striking unerringly at their target.

"Let us help!" Petra shouted as she and Kinnon both hit the demon with frost spells, freezing it into a solid block of ice.

"Carol?" Hawkeye called out, "All yours."

"My pleasure, Clint!" The blonde Avenger shouted back as she impacted the demon at near supersonic speed, instantly shattering it. "That ought to do it." Ms. Marvel declared triumphantly as she descended to the floor.

"I've secured the entrance." The other blonde woman announced, "Although I think taking out their leader ended the attack—for now at least.

"Ok, everybody, let's secure and catch our breaths." The man wearing red, white, and blue commanded as everyone heaved a collective sigh of relief. "Casualties?"

"None, thank the Maker." Kinnon replied. "Your force mage…" He said, gesturing with his head towards where Sue knelt, comforting the children, "Is very talented."

"Very much so." Wynne interjected, adding her praise.

"Thanks." Sue responded with a smile, "But my powers don't come from magic—none of our powers do, in fact."

"What?" A curious Wynne exclaimed, "You're not mages? But how…"

"It's a long story." Sue answered back, "And we'll be happy to tell you later." Her eyes falling on Kelli, the Invisible Woman remarked, "I'm sorry, but I had to put her in a force bubble for her own protection."

"Kelli has always been emotionally…unstable." Wynne explained, "She has never been able to accept her magical abilities."

"She did her best to kill me." Evelyn gasped as she set down next to Ms. Marvel. "Thank you!" She exclaimed, addressing the newcomers, "I don't think we could have stopped them without your help."

"You did pretty good yourself out there." The archer called Hawkeye responded.

"You must be Evelyn." The man with the round shield stated, "Dr. Strange told us about you. I'm Captain America.

"Hawkeye." The archer smirked.

"The Invisible Woman." The blonde woman kneeling next to the children and Wynne waved in greeting, "But you can call me Sue."

"And I'm Ms. Marvel—but you can call me Carol." The woman wearing a black leotard smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's nice meeting you too." Forgetting her nudity in her excitement at meeting the people in her dreams, Evelyn's smile became even more radiant.

"Doesn't it feel a bit…nippy…in here?" Hawkeye quipped as he eyed appreciatively the naked woman standing next to Ms. Marvel.

Evelyn blushed a deep crimson as she eyed the blond archer ogling her. "I'm sorry…" She stammered an apology as she tried in vain to cover her naked body with her hands and arms, "But when I change…"

"Stephen told us." Carol responded sympathetically as she glared at Clint. "I brought a little something to help you with your clothing problem."

"Here, Evelyn." Alistair blushed as he handed his fellow Grey Warden a blanket that he had found so that she could cover herself., averting his eyes so that she could have some privacy. As he did so, the ex-templar noticed the man wearing red, white, and blue nod his head at him approvingly.

"Put your eyes back in your skull, Hawkeye!" The Invisible Woman commanded as the archer suddenly found himself lying on the ground, the victim of a not so gentle force shove.

"Clint…" Carol smirked as she looked down on her friend, "Wanna give me that package now?"

"Sure, Carol." Hawkeye replied as he struggled back to his feet, accompanied by the laughter of the girls along with Captain America and Alistair. "Here." He said as he handed Ms. Marvel the package he was carrying for her while at the same time gingerly massaging his bruised bottom.

"Is there a place where you can change?" Carol asked as she looked about for an area that would give the two women some privacy.

"The apprentice dorms." Wynne responded as she pointed down the hall. "Give me a moment…" She said before staggering.

"Please, sit down, Ma'am." Captain America urged as he gently guided Wynne to a nearby bench. "I'm sure this lady here…" He gestured with his head towards Petra "…can show them where to go while you catch your breath."

"This way, please." Petra gestured

As Izzy began to follow his mistress, Evelyn turned about and smiled, "Sorry, Izzy…no boys allowed."

"Don't worry, boy." Carol smiled down at the loyal mabari, "We'll take good care of your mistress."

Immediately deciding that he liked the strange looking flying blonde woman, Izzy barked happily.

"Good boy!" Carol laughed as she turned to Petra and Evelyn, "Ladies?"

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

"I think it looks great on you!" Carol exclaimed with a big smile on her face, "I knew that old costume of mine would fit you!"

"It's…different." Petra commented as her eyes took in the outlandish clothing worn by both women

"I love it!" Evelyn smiled as she looked at herself in a mirror and did a quick pirouette.

"What about the name Hawk gave you?" Carol asked, with a look of concern on her face, "Is that ok with you too?"

"I think the name's great." Evelyn replied, asking, "But what does it mean and why is it important?"

"Well…" Ms. Marvel responded, "Your nickname sort of tells everyone who you are and what you're about. Like…Spider-Man got his name because he walks on walls and shoots webbing from his wrists."

"You mean he's part spider?" Petra gasped.

"Oh no!" Carol laughed, "Although he did grow a new set of arms in a freak incident a while back. You see…" She explained, "He got bit by a radioactive spider…" Seeing the look of confusion on the two women's faces, Ms. Marvel apologized, "Oh…that's right…you don't know about radioactivity."

"Is it something like magic?" Petra asked.

"Not quite." Carol responded, "But close enough for our purposes. Anyway that spider's bite gave him his powers, but he makes his own webbing from chemicals and shoots it out of mechanical wrist launchers."

"Kind of like some assassins and others use spring launchers to shoot out throwing knives and darts." Evelyn interjected.

"Exactly!" Carol smiled back. "So you see…because his powers come from a spider and he uses webbing, people started calling him 'Spider-Man' and the name stuck."

"So…why do they call you Ms. Marvel?" Evelyn asked.

"Well…" Carol began, "Partly because I'm something of a feminist—I don't like it when women are pushed around—that's where the 'Ms.' comes from. As for the Marvel part…well…I got my powers partly through another hero—Captain Marvel. There's a lot more to it than that, but…let's just say it's complicated."

"And Hawkeye's called Hawkeye because he's a good archer." Evelyn observed.

"The best." Carol nodded her head in agreement, "Although don't tell him I said that—otherwise his head'll get bigger than it already is."

"I kinda noticed he doesn't lack in self-confidence." Evelyn quipped.

"That he doesn't." Carol laughed, "But…" She added, her expression now more serious, "He's a good man and one you want on your side when the going gets tough."

"So…why Starfire?" Evelyn asked, "Not that I don't like the name—I do—but why did he choose it. Is it my powers?"

"Most likely." Carol replied with a smile, "They work a bit like a friend of ours, Firestar. Plus, you look a bit like Angelica—you're both redheads and about the same age." Seeing that Evelyn had finished making adjustments to her costume, Carol smiled. "All right then!" Ms. Marvel grinned, "Let's go—it's time for your coming out party.

Entering the hallway first, Carol called out, "Ladies and gentlemen, the all new…and newly costumed…" She teased, winking at Evelyn, "Starfire!"

"Hey…Hey!" Clint called out as he clapped his hands.

"Your old costume, Carol?" Captain America remarked as he nodded his head approvingly.

"Yeah, Cap." Ms. Marvel responded. "It was just gathering dust and I thought she'd look good in it. Plus, it's made of unstable molecules so Evelyn doesn't have to worry about running around naked anymore."

"I like that." Evelyn grinned as she turned to Alistair. "So…what do you think, Alistair?" The young redhead asked as she posed for the ex-templar. "You like it?"

His eyes took in the unusual costume his fellow Grey Warden was wearing: red top with dark blue, almost black, shoulders with a blue-black bottom and her belly exposed and what appeared to be a gold star emblazoned on the chest. She also wore long dark blue-black gloves and boots with red trim at the top of the boots along with a red scarf or sash around her neck, its ends flapping behind her back. Alistair also noticed that his friend was wearing a small blue-black mask over her eyes.

"It's…different." Alistair remarked. "But…why the mask?"

"It's a disguise.' Carol interjected, "So no one knows who she is."

"That little thing!" Alistair laughed.

"It has a perception filter." Carol explained, "People who know who she is as Starfire and as Evelyn will recognize her, but no one else will."

"Is it a type of magic?" Wynne inquired, genuinely curious.

"You know…" Carol responded, "I'm not sure. In some cases it probably is magic, but in others, not. Anyway, where do you draw the line between magic and science?"

"You know, my dear." Wynne responded, "That is a very good question."

"So…how did you get here?" Evelyn asked, "Is Stephen here too?"

"No, I'm sorry." Sue responded. "He's in the astral plane keeping the portal open."

"Not that we're not grateful." Alistair interrupted, "But who are you and why are you here."

After introductions were made, Captain America spoke up, "We're here because Dr. Strange had discovered that a powerful mystic from our plane, Baron Mordo, had opened a portal here. He was worried that Mordo might intend to use something from this plane to carry out some agenda of his back home."

"I take it this Mordo is not a good man." Alistair drawled as Hawkeye laughed.

"You can say that again!"

"What do you think this mage might be seeking here?" Wynne inquired.

"Dr. Strange wasn't sure…" Captain America replied, "But he thinks it might revolve around this Blight that you're dealing with now."

"If he's seeking to bring the Blight to your world…" Evelyn shuddered.

"If that's the case..." The First Avenger nodded his head, "From what little we've been told about this Blight, then we have to stop him."

"If this Baron Mordo has made common cause with Uldred…" Wynne began only to be interrupted by Alistair.

"Uldred?" The former templar exclaimed, "Wasn't he the angry bald mage at the war council you were telling me about, Evelyn…um…Starfire…um…"

"We'll sort the names out later, Alistair." Evelyn grinned, "But yes, Uldred was the one who got into it with the Reverend Mother over lighting the signal fire." Turning back to Wynne, the young redhead asked, "So…what's Uldred's role in this? Is he the one responsible for what's happening at the Circle."

"Yes." The senior enchantress nodded her head somberly, "He had apparently been planning this for some time as it happened very quickly."

"We don't have much time." Evelyn declared, "Gregoir warned us that he had sent to Denerim for reinforcements and the Right of Annulment."

"Does this right of annulment mean what I think it means?" A suddenly tense Hawkeye inquired.

"I'm afraid so." Alistair replied. "If we don't return with either proof that the Tower has been totally cleansed or with the First Enchanter himself to vouchsafe that the threat has ended, then Gregoir and the templars will purge everything…" His eyes then fell sadly upon the children huddled around Sue, "…and everyone."

"I'm not letting him or any other tin-can here touch these children." Sue announced, her maternal instincts fully awakened.

"Agreed." Evelyn affirmed as her powers momentarily flared.

"On that, I think we're all in agreement." Captain America declared as everyone in the room, including the Circle mages, nodded their heads.

"The best way to prevent that and to save any other innocents…" Wynne pointed out, "Would be to stop Uldred and this Baron Mordo as soon as possible."

"You're right, Ma'am." Captain America nodded his head, "You're the one most familiar with this place, where would you suggest we start?"

"We'll have to clear the Tower from bottom to top." Wynne responded, "Uldred and the one you seek are probably in the Harrowing Chamber, but there will be abominations and demons and probably blood mages along the way as well as…hopefully…survivors who have managed to remain hidden."

"Harrowing Chamber?" Carol interrupted.

"That is where apprentices undergo the Harrowing—the ritual all mages must undergo to become full mages." Wynne explained.

"What about the Tranquils?" Evelyn interrupted, her voice now carrying an edge, "One in particular—Alara Surana. Where would she be?"

"Alara?" Wynne bowed her head, shaking it sadly. "I heard about what happened to the poor dear. I always liked her."

"Was she the one?" Sue asked in an even soft voice.

"Yes." Evelyn grimly replied, "She was the one they performed the Ritual of Tranquility on.

"From what Stephen told me." Carol said as she looked at Wynne accusingly, "It's the equivalent of a lobotomy."

"What is a lobotomy." Petra asked.

Turning to the younger mage, Ms. Marvel snapped angrily, "It's when they cut out part of the brain's frontal lobes. It was used as means of controlling the violently insane."

"Maker's breath!" Petra gasped in horror. "You actually did that…"

"You did the equivalent to that girl!" Carol bit back as she picked up a large cabinet and threw it against the wall, shattering it and causing the children to cry.

"Carol…" Captain America interrupted in a calm, yet commanding voice as Susan calmed the children. "Colonel Danvers! Take five and catch your breath."

Her attention immediately drawn to the First Avenger by the use of her Air Force rank, Carol took a deep breath, "Cap…Steve…what they did to that girl was wrong."

"I know, Carol." Captain America responded, maintaining his calm, level, voice tone, "And Dr. Strange has promised to find a way to undo what was done."

"And Reed is helping him." Sue added, "Just as they're working to help Evelyn." The Invisible Woman then turned her attention to Wynne, "The others here call you a senior enchanter. Were you one of those who ordered this thing done to that woman?"

"No." Wynne shook her head sadly. "I was at Ostagar when it all happened."

Evelyn and Alistair both nodded their heads in confirmation when the Avengers glanced their way. "She was at Ostagar with us." Evelyn verified.

"I take her at her word." Alistair declared, "I don't think she knew anything about it."

"I knew Alara." Wynne exclaimed defensively, "She was a good apprentice and a good person, but she was too trusting…too naive. I was told that she was taken in by a blood mage…"

"Jowan." Evelyn interrupted, "We ran into him at Redcliffe Castle. He told us all about what happened." Evelyn then explained the whole sad story to the gathered assembly. "She thought she was helping a friend in love." She concluded as her eyes moistened. "Only to find out later that she was being used—but by then, it was too late."

"While it does sound like she made an error in judgment." Captain America solemnly declared, "Her sentence does not seem to have fit the crime."

"I quite agree, Ser." Wynne affirmed, adding thoughtfully, "I have heard unconfirmed rumors from sources in other Circles that there have been more instances where Harrowed mages have been sentenced to undergo the Rite of Tranquility for committing what would otherwise be considered relatively minor offenses. I will admit to more than a little concern over that. For what it is worth…" The senior enchantress declared, her voice tinged with regret, as she gazed into Ms. Marvel's eyes, "…had I been there at the time, I would have been the first to raise my voice against her sentence."

"I'm sure you would have, Ma'am." Captain America replied reassuringly as Evelyn cleared her throat.

"What would they have done with her after…" The young redhead asked.

"She was assigned to the stockroom under Owain." Petra interjected with a sob, "I…knew Alara as did Kinnon and Kelli. She was a good person and didn't deserve her sentence."

Wynne shook her head, "I fear none of the Tranquil there are still alive. Everyone that could escape is either outside or in here. If she is still alive, then she's trapped."

"Then we'll find her." Evelyn replied as the other heroes nodded their heads in agreement.

"And I'll go with you." Wynne declared. Seeing that the man wearing the red, white, and blue suit who was the apparent leader of this group of strangers was about to raise his voice to object, the senior enchantress quickly added, "I know the way and have fully recovered and Irving knows me. Also, I am an accomplished mage. Finally, I'm a healer and I fear you will have need of one before this is done."

"We could use a medic, Cap…" Hawkeye interjected, "Just in case."

"We probably do need to have her along, Ser…" Evelyn interrupted. "She knows the grounds here the best."

"This is your beat—your territory. You're in command, Starfire." Captain America declared as he smiled at Evelyn.

"Thank you, Ser." Evelyn smiled back.

"Call me Cap." The First Avenger replied, "So, Starfire, what are your orders?"

Turning back to Wynn, Evelyn said, "You're welcome to join us, Senior Enchanter, although I would ask that you stay to the back. We cannot afford to have our healer injured or worse."

"I will do what I can to keep myself safe, child." Wynne smiled back.

"Are you going to be ok here, Sue?" Captain America inquired.

"We'll be fine here, Cap." The Invisible Woman replied in a confident voice, "I've got some pretty good back up." She said with a smile as she gestured towards Petra and Kinnon. "We'll keep the kids safe from both demons and templars. Nothing and no one is going to get through my force fields."

"The young lady seems pretty confident in her abilities." Wynne noted somewhat dubiously.

"That 'young lady'…" Hawkeye noted with a laugh, "Is probably the most powerful person here." As Ms. Marvel and the other strangers nodded their heads in agreement, the archer continued, "Forgetting her powers, there's one thing about Sue you gotta keep in mind. She's a momma bear and you know what happens when you mess with a momma bear and her cubs."

As Wynne looked on the maternal Sue, the older woman saw how quickly the young blonde had bonded with the young apprentices. "She's got two children of her own at home." Feeling a reassuring hand on her shoulder, the senior enchantress turned to see Captain America talking to her. "Those kids couldn't be in better hands. She won't let anything happen to them or anyone else here."

"I can see that now." Wynne declared with a smile as she saw the children playing with the stranger. Then, her eyes falling on the door where just recently demons and abominations had emerged, the old woman remarked, "Well…shall we be off now?"

"Ready when you are." Hawkeye grinned.

Seeing Captain America and Ms. Marvel both nod their heads in agreement as Alistair gave her a supporting grin, Evelyn took a deep breath. "All right…" Turning to Hawkeye, she whispered, "What was that phrase Cap used?" As the archer, with a knowing wink and grin, whispered back his response, Evelyn nodded her head and winked back.

"Avengers Assemble!"


End file.
